Halo of Glory
by yente
Summary: Complete! Tielle, the Crown Princess on her world, is powerless as she is kidnapped and taken to an enemy planet. Things are complicated when she falls in love with an enemy prince who doesn't share her beliefs in the one true God. R&R!
1. Author's Note

Author's Note  
  
Dear Reader,  
  
First of all, thank you for reading this. It is my first FanFiction piece, and so I'd definitely appreciate any and all of your comments and constructive criticism. And if you feel so inclined, e-mail me at yente@e- garfield.com. I'd love to hear from you!  
  
Due to both the religious nature and science-fiction setting of this story, I want to make a few things clear.  
  
First of all, this story takes place in another galaxy and before the prophesied Messiah has come, yet after the Old Testament has been written. Therefore there is no "New Testament" available to the people of this time, and the Old Testament has not been complied to be the Old Testament as we know it. Instead, there is the Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy), the Prophets (Joshua through Kings and Isaiah through Malachi), the Writings (Job, Daniel, Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther) and the Proverbs (Proverbs, Song of Songs, and Psalms.)  
  
Second of all, although this story takes place before the Messiah has come, I am writing this story from a Christian perspective with Christian issues such as forgiveness and salvation, which are issues that a carpenter from Nazareth once preached about. His name was Jesus, and He was the Messiah that came and saved us all some 2000 years ago on this planet that God breathed into existence.  
  
Love, your sister in Christ,  
  
Allison 


	2. Prologue

Halo of Glory  
  
Prologue  
  
Ecclesiastes 7:2 "…for death is the destiny of every man…"  
  
They were dead.  
  
Tielle ran through the metallic hallways, her shoes creating a loud tapping noise as they hit the polished floor with enough force to jar her ankles and hurt her knees. She didn't care though; she just kept running, running, running…  
  
Eventually she reached the sanctuary of her room. She pushed open her door and ran to the balcony, her refuge and place of solitude when she needed to think. Like now.  
  
Pushing a stubborn lock of fiery red hair away from her jade green eyes, Tielle looked over the hills and valleys of her world, Hidon. How peaceful it all looked in the early morning light. But soon all of the news-holos would be buzzing with the news: the eldest three children of King Partini Satine had been in a fatal hover-car accident. And none of them, including the Crown Prince Erete, had survived.  
  
They were all dead.  
  
Tielle finally let her sobs break past her lips and tear through her soul. Oh, Erete! And her gentle older sisters Matani and Thoena! Gone, wiped away from the galaxy as surely as a footprint washed away by an ocean's tide.  
  
And, thanks to her Hidonian photographic memory, this day would never fade from her mind. Each horrific detail would remain with her until the day she died  
  
Again Tielle let her gaze travel to the landscape of Hidon. The sun was just peeking over the purple mountains, casting brilliant rays of color all throughout the endless sky. It was beautiful. So beautiful.  
  
And now, one day, Tielle would have to rule over all of it. 


	3. The Recognizing Ceremony

1 Part One- Hatred  
  
2 Chapter One-The Recognizing Ceremony  
  
2.1 Proverbs 16:12 "Kings detest wrongdoing, for a throne is established through righteousness."  
  
With shaking hands, Tielle smoothed the expensive green fabric of her dress and glanced around the drapes hanging over the window. Her stomach leaped as she saw the hundreds of people gathered in the Hall, waiting for her.  
  
"Tielle!" Her attendant chastised her, pulling her away from the window. "You know that you are not to be seen before the ceremony!" The fussy, slightly overweight woman steered Tielle into a chair. "Now, hold still. Your hair must be perfect."  
  
Yes, though Tielle, we wouldn't want to discourage potential suitors, now would we? Already since that fateful day of her siblings' deaths and when she unofficially became the Crown Princess, Tielle had received twenty- three proposals from Hidonian and off-world nobles. That number would increase greatly after today.  
  
Once her hair was finished being curled and pinned and styled, Tielle went over to her full-length mirror and gave herself a critical once-over. Her make-up had been expertly applied, her dress fit to perfection, her hair was swept up elegantly and so that a sparkling tiara would not disturb the array of curls.  
  
Tielle turned to her attendant. "Tell Queen Shari that I am ready," she instructed, noting that her tone of voice had become more commanding since she had become the Heir. She wondered if she would become even more demanding after she was crowned and officially Recognized as the Crown Princess.  
  
Her attendant returned. "Queen Shari says you are to wait for the signal here, then begin your descent."  
  
Tielle nodded her understanding and the attendant left.  
  
Tielle looked out the window again and watched as her father rose from the ornate throne at the back of the Hall. He extended his hand to her mother, and together they stepped up to the front of their podium. The Hall quieted as the King gave the introductory and welcoming remarks. Tielle let the drapes fall and closed her eyes. It wouldn't be long now. Oh God, she prayed. Please let me be a good Crown Princess and Queen, one day. I'm scared; I was never expecting to be a Queen. I was content to let Erete rule. This is all so new to me, but if I am to rule, then that is Your will. Help me as I prepare to rule.  
  
Tielle did not want to rule Hidon. She had had to adjust to the idea in a short month; Erete had had all of his life. He had started off with intense studying in the subjects of Galactic History, Hidonian History, Politics, Economics, Diplomacy and other heavy topics that Tielle had only dabbled in before. Now she would be expected to know it all!  
  
And in these perilous times, Diplomacy had become even more important than usual. Hidon was very near war with Fareari, and Tielle privately thought that Farearian commandoes had somehow killed her older siblings. Several quiet investigations were looking into that possibility, but until he had concrete evidence, King Partini was powerless to do anything about it.  
  
Fareari! Tielle's lip curled with unconscious distaste. The Farearians were attempting to infringe upon Hidonian space, saying that it was their space to begin with. And they had been accusing Hidonian of covert and illegal operations to cripple Fareari's trade and keep Hidon dominate. And if that wasn't enough, Fareari had vaporized a harmless tourist space shuttle from Hidon, then later apologized, saying that they had thought that it was a pirate ship from the Slave Trade worlds.  
  
Tielle had no more time to dwell on the evils of Fareari; she heard the trumpets blare and then fall silent. She hurried to the top of the long staircase and began her slow descent.  
  
All eyes were on her as she slowly stepped down each stair until she finally reached the floor and started across the carpeted aisle, her head high and proud. Each step led her closer to the raised dais… and her destiny as the Queen of Hidon.  
  
She reached the dais and took her father's hand to help herself up. Then she gracefully and respectfully curtsied. Her father waved a hand to the people standing in the Hall. "Tielle, as the Crown Princess and future Queen of Hidon, you will be responsible for the subjects of Hidon. You will be responsible to protect and guide them, to respect and care for them and to, above all, serve them and Hidon above all else. Will you take this responsibility?"  
  
"I will."  
  
"Then recite your pledge after me."  
  
Tielle smiled as she recited the long pledge, her voice ringing with the solemn dignity that such an occasion demanded, although she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. She, like all Hidonians, loved ritual.  
  
Tielle repeated her father's words. " 'I pledge to always serve Hidon, being a fair and just ruler, never bringing intentional harm to any one of my subjects, but to instead rule with their prosperity in mind. I vow to never take from them what is theirs or deny them what is theirs. I promise to always seek what is right and good. I pledge this in front of all gathered here today, and in front of the One who is everywhere always, my God'."  
  
Tielle kneeled and bowed her head, waiting for the feel of pressure on her head. It came, and Tielle felt a rush of emotion as she realized that the she was now the Crown Princess Tielle Alaissyiss Nucona Satine of Hidon.  
  
She rose to her feet and faced Hidon's nobles as her father spoke. "I give you the Recognized Crown Princess Tielle Alaissyiss Nucona Satine of Hidon."  
  
The applause ringing through the Hall did not even come close to the intensity of emotions ringing through Tielle's heart.  
  
Mid-way though Tielle's Recognizing Ceremony Ball, Tielle noticed a communications officer approach her father. In his blue uniform, the officer looked out of place among all of the extravagance of the formal wear of Hidon's nobles.  
  
King Partini frowned and motioned to Tielle. She excused herself from her dancing partner and hurried over. "Yes, Father?"  
  
"There is an urgent matter I must address. Please oversee matters here and assure everyone that there was something that I needed to do immediately, but it is of no real importance." The look on the King's face betrayed the actual importance of his business.  
  
"Father, what is it?"  
  
King Partini shook his head. "Nothing important. I will be-"  
  
"Father, do not lie. Tell me the truth," Tielle pressed. "I have a right as the Crown Princess to know what is happening."  
  
Her father considered her. "Perhaps you are right. Very well, I will tell you. But tell no one, not even your mother or sister."  
  
Tielle nodded her consent.  
  
Her father looked at a distant point beyond her. "I have just received a communiqué from Fareari."  
  
In Chapter Two- The Trip to Fareari, Tielle discovers the unbelievable reason for Fareari's communiqué and journeys to Fareari to join her father. En route, her shuttle is captured by an unknown people with an unknown intent… 


	4. The Trip to Fareari

Chapter Two- The Trip to Fareari  
  
Psalm 31: 24- "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."  
  
A communiqué from Fareari? What could it mean? Why was Fareari contacting Hidon? And why on Tielle's Recognition Ceremony night? Tielle's mind swirled with questions and thoughts and worries. Did this mean war? Or was Fareari contacting Hidon for an entirely different reason. Did they want to make amends with Hidon?  
  
If they did, they would have to grovel to win her father's acceptance and forgiveness. All Hidonians knew that Farearians were enemies of not only Hidon, but of their God also. The pagan Farearians worshipped gods that Tielle did not entirely understand, as well as being involved in gene- altering practices that created strange powers that allowed them to sense the emotions and thoughts of others. Gene-altering was strictly forbidden on Hidon, as it allowed for generations of gene-altered people who could invade others' privacy. Hidonians also knew that if their God had wanted people to be able to sense emotions and uncover motives, He would have created them that way.  
  
King Partini sternly looked at Tielle. "Do not tell anyone what I have just told you. It must not be known that the King of Fareari has sent a communiqué to me. Understood?"  
  
Tielle nodded dumbly, her mind still whirling with the implications of what she had just heard.  
  
"Then I will be leaving now. Go dance and mingle with the guests," Tielle's father instructed her, and he left. Tielle lifted a hand to her forehead and attempted to rub away the soreness that was growing behind her temples.  
  
"Tielle! I believe I have this dance," a cool voice interrupted Tielle's reverie. She looked up to see her Uncle Klane, her father's younger brother and the Grand Duke of Chepsco. He took her elbow and steered her towards the dance floor. "Come now, Tielle. Surely you want to celebrate your Recognizing, Tielle?" Klane used Tielle's name more often than necessary to show the fact that since he was related to her, he didn't need to use the obligatory "Princess". When she was Queen, however, he would have to use her title unless she said otherwise.  
  
She wouldn't. She disliked her arrogant uncle and would not give him anything that she did not have to, including the honor of addressing her without her title.  
  
As they danced to the haunting Hidonian music, Klane insisted on bothering Tielle about where her father had gone. "I just think it is a bit strange that he would be missing the Recognizing Ceremony Ball," Klane confided, a strange gleam in his eye. "After all, other than the Coronation Ceremony, it is the most important Hidonian ritual, don't you agree, Tielle?"  
  
"Surely you understand that being the King of all of Hidon has its pressing responsibilities Uncle Klane? My father is a very important man and has many duties, not all of which can be attended to during normal hours. Being the King is not an easy task."  
  
"Then I wish you success as you one day attempt that same rule, Tielle. When you are Queen, I am sure that you will find it just as difficult as your father is…or perhaps more so."  
  
Now what did that mean?  
  
Early the next morning, after the ball was over, King Partini finally emerged from his communication quarters, all energy spent and his eyelids dropping even as he called for his private shuttle. The trip to Fareari was not long enough to need his private ship.  
  
And Fareari was where he was going.  
  
When Tielle heard of Fareari's peace proposition, she was stunned. Could the Farearian King be serious with this offer? This was completely contrary to everything Tielle had ever seen from the conniving Farearian King Faihn, whose personality was legendary for revenge and the lust of battle.  
  
But of course her father would have to assume that it was a real attempt towards peace. So he had left, saying that soon enough he would send for Tielle so that she would get the experience at witnessing the event of a peace treaty. For now she was supposed to relax and recover from the long and vigorous night of her Recognizing Ceremony.  
  
As if she could relax with the news of a possible treaty! So instead she had come to her private target range and was practicing her laser-shot. As the heir to the throne, assassination attempts were a very real danger, and she couldn't entirely rely on bodyguards.  
  
Not only was she an expert shot, but she could also kill with nothing but her bare hands if necessary. Tielle didn't know if she could do such a thing even if her own life was in danger, and she prayed to God that she would never have the chance to find out.  
  
But even if she never used her lethal self-defense training, it was a welcome outlet for pouring out confusion and frustration. Tielle put away her laser and cued the mats to come out of their storage places underneath the gymnasium's floor.  
  
She practiced her martial arts and diving, rolling and shooting skills for the next hour without instruction from any of the many personal instructors that she had. Sometimes it was better to just practice alone.  
  
After a last particularly vicious set of kicks and punches, Tielle stopped and tried to slow her quick, shallow breathing and racing heartbeat. She had had enough of this. As her first official act as the confirmed heiress of Hidon, she was going to demand that she be allowed to go to Fareari immediately. She didn't want to wait any longer.  
  
Tielle glanced at her younger sister, Arilana, who had wanted to come with her to Fareari. "Let me go," she had implored, looking to both Queen Shari and Tielle for permission. "I'm going to be a Grand Duchess one day; I need to know stuff and travel too."  
  
Arilana hadn't been overly eloquent in her request as she begged to be able to travel and learn "stuff", but in the end Queen Shari had given her consent and allowed both of the girls to go to Fareari. They had with them a full squad of bodyguards and would be just as safe on Fareari as on Hidon.  
  
Arilana's eyes now glowed with excitement and wonder at the experience of traveling without either of her parents. At the young age of fifteen Hidonian years, she had not done any traveling without either the King or Queen along. She had not had the experience and privileges that Tielle had gained as she entered her nineteenth year.  
  
Arilana couldn't sit still. "I'm going in the sim," she declared, referring to the shuttle's simulator. Arilana had shown a great interest in piloting ships and would probably serve in Hidon's military when she came of age.  
  
Tielle nodded her permission and reached for her datapad. She keyed up the profiles of all of the men who had proposed to her and continued the lengthy process of weeding out those who she didn't want to marry, and those who might be possibilities. The seven-hour flight would allow her enough time to choose a couple of candidates out of the thirty-six that her father had approved.  
  
Five hours later, Tielle had decided upon not a couple possibilities, but she had actually chosen one. Kall Aswroth was a prince of Shansire, one of Hidon's neighboring worlds. Shansire's King had been very supportive of Hidon in everything that Hidon did, including their quarrels with Fareari. Prince Kall was the third in line for the throne, and, being from Shansire, shared Tielle's faith.  
  
Tielle had talked and danced with him many times at various world affairs. He was fairly handsome and extremely easy-going and fun to talk to. Kall wouldn't interfere with Tielle as she ruled Hidon but would instead let her do all the official business while he would be the perfect King and host for world affairs like trade conferences and balls. Tielle knew that she would have no problem getting along with him and might even grow to love him when they got married. He's perfect, isn't he, Lord?  
  
Tielle smiled and sent a message to her mother. Once the shuttle arrived at Fareari and was out of light-space, the message would be sent to Queen Shari's message pad immediately, and she could prepare to make the announcement when Tielle arrived at home.  
  
King Faihn P'ashara of Fareari had been sick for a couple days, slowing down the peace treaty process, as he was the only one from Fareari with authority to negotiate the terms of the treaty.  
  
He hadn't counted on the girl taking so much time to arrive! He had known from the source that she would come, but he had assumed she would come immediately, with her father. When she had not it had thrown all of his well-laid plans, but he had quickly managed to change the plans for the circumstances. Flexibility when dealing with uncontrollable circumstances was important, Faihn had been taught.  
  
He had just always preferred to control the circumstance.  
  
No matter. She was on her way now, and there would be no need to keep up this charade once she arrived.  
  
"Five minutes until real-space, Your Highness." Tielle looked up to see one of her bodyguards. "Very good. And is there going to be an official escort from the Farearians to bring us down to the planet?"  
  
The muscular man nodded. "It should take approximately ten minutes for us to reach Citaege, the capital city. Your father, His Majesty King Partini, will be meeting you there."  
  
Tielle nodded. "And are we on schedule?"  
  
"Yes, everything is going as planned."  
  
"Excellent. Continue."  
  
The man bowed slightly and left.  
  
Tielle nudged Arilana, who after an hour in the sim had fallen asleep. She was not yet used to dancing all night and then traveling soon after. "Arilana. Wake up. We're landing in Citaege in fifteen minutes."  
  
Arilana stretched and yawned. "All right, all right, I'm awake."  
  
A sudden bump! caught Tielle off guard and sent her across the floor. She struggled to rise and staggered over to Arilana, who had also fallen off of her seat. "What's happening, Tielle?"  
  
Tielle shook her head. "I don't know." She maneuvered around fallen objects and went headfirst into a wall when the ship lurched again. "But I'm going to find out."  
  
She slammed a hand onto a button and the door slid open. She staggered out into the hall and walked in a zigzag line to the cockpit. "What's happening!"  
  
The pilot and co-pilot ignored her, but one of the bodyguards gestured to the view-screen, where a large and menacing ship, twenty times larger than the small shuttle, hung in the oppressive darkness of space. "We've been pulled out of light-space, Your Highness."  
  
Tielle glanced at the controls and even though she didn't know as much about ships as Arilana did, she knew it wasn't good. "How much damage did we take?"  
  
The pilot grimly replied, "Too much. We don't have the power to fight the tractive-pull."  
  
Tielle couldn't believe her ears. "You mean we're being captured by whoever is in that ship?" Deliver us, Lord, from our enemies! Protect us and keep us safe!  
  
The silence told her everything she needed to know.  
  
In Chapter Three- "We're Going Out Fighting!", Tielle and her sister face imprisonment or death on an enemy ship… 


	5. Going Out Fighting

Chapter Three-"We're Going Out Fighting!"  
  
Psalm 3:1- "O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!"  
  
"What about the escape pods? Can we use them?" Tielle asked, her voice sounding desperate in her own ears. This couldn't be happening!  
  
A bodyguard shook his head. "The tractive-pull's beam is large enough to stop the pod from going anywhere. It would just pull the pods in along with the shuttle."  
  
Then they were stuck. Tielle spun around and staggered back to the room where Arilana was waiting. "What's happening, Tielle?"  
  
Tielle was already packing a bag. "We're being captured by somebody and there's no way out. They've got us in a tractive-pull." She threw some nice clothes into the bag. Even as a prisoner, she was going to look like the princess she was. "I'd advise you to start packing." Tielle added her religious books, the Prophets, the Proverbs, the Writings, and the Pentateuch to the bag, and threw in her datapad for good measure, although she had no doubt that it would be confiscated by her captors. Next she added her basic hygienic materials, and lastly she took her photo-bank of photos that she carried with her everywhere.  
  
Arilana was packing a similar bag beside her, but Tielle knew that there was something that they'd both need. She reached under her seat and located the button, pressed it, and opened the compartment that contained four lasers, all fully charged and ready to go. "They won't take us without a fight," Tielle whispered as she hid one laser in a holster on her arm and put the other in the holster on her waist.  
  
Saos Ritane was sworn to protect and guard the Crown Princess with his life. He was instructed to die rather than let Princess Tielle fall into enemy hands, no matter whether the enemy had plans to kill her or not. And now that the enemy would have both the Crown Princess, and Princess Arilana, who would become the Queen if anything happened to Tielle, making sure that at least one of them escaped alive was crucial. If both perished, the royal Satine birthright would be passed on to Klane Satine, which was something that made every Hidonian pray for the safety of the Princesses every night.  
  
Hopefully their prayers would not be in vain. Saos checked his laser and barked, "We won't go down without a fight! We must get at least one of the Princesses safely to Fareari, no matter what the cost!"  
  
The rest of the bodyguards checked their lasers, then looked at the ship that was gradually coming closer and closer. Saos thought he saw something close to fire burning in their eyes.  
  
Arilana moaned, "What are we going to do? What will they do with us? Will we die?" Her voice broke and she started to sob.  
  
Tielle rushed over to her distraught sister. "They won't kill us," she declared, hoping what she said was true. "If they wanted us dead, they would have already blasted us."  
  
Arilana stopped her weeping. "You're right. We'd already be dead." The though cheered her up considerably, so Tielle didn't mention that their captors might want to torture them, or use them to make their father do what they wanted him to, or just to kill them while billions of beings watched…  
  
Tielle shook away such thoughts. They weren't going to kill her, not if she still had breath in her lungs and strength in her limbs. "Here Arilana, take this." She tossed the laser to her younger sister. "We're going out fighting."  
  
"We're going out fighting," the head bodyguard, Saos interrupted Tielle from the door, "but you two are going to be behind us, trying to make a break for it."  
  
Tielle stalked up to the bodyguard. "I'm as good a shot as any one of your bodyguards, and I intended to use that advantage, not cower behind any bodyguards. They won't kill us. If they wanted to kill us, they already would have."  
  
Saos looked over her, and Tielle drew herself up and mustered as much royal dignity as she could under the circumstances. "You start shooting only after the bodyguards are down and you aren't being protected by them anymore."  
  
"Very well," Tielle agreed, then was struck by an idea. "My datapad! Where is it?" She ran to her bag and rummaged through it.  
  
"Princess, they've already cloaked all of our frequencies. We can't get any messages through."  
  
"They've cloaked all of our international frequencies. But unless they're Hidonian, they can't cloak our Hidonian frequencies. They don't know them." Tielle triumphantly grabbed the datapad and began furiously keying in a message to her mother. SOS. Extremely urgent, life or death matter, she typed as the subject, then continued for the body, prematurely pulled out of light-space, caught in tractile-pull, will be boarded by unknown enemy, try to fight our way off and to Fareari, doesn't look good, too late to help, but start search teams, help us! love you all, tell Kall that I would have chosen him and do if I return to Hidon.  
  
T and A  
  
Tielle hit the send button.  
  
"Very clever, Your Highness," Saos praised her coolly. "Of course, it won't help anything, but at least they will know that we didn't have an accident in light-space."  
  
Commander Falkes Thash had relished this assignment. Capturing the Crown Princess of those arrogant Hidonians was a personal pleasure, and if he pulled it off well, with both Princesses alive and relatively unharmed, he had been promised a promotion.  
  
However, a promotion wouldn't be as good as being allowed the pleasure of torturing the two girls. And if he satisfied his superior, perhaps he would be allowed that delight.  
  
With a bang the small shuttle was drawn up into the large ship. Tielle desperately prayed, Oh God, gracious Lord, please be with us and protect us. And let at least one of us, either Arilana or I escape so that the Satine line can continue through us.  
  
Please help us. Oh God, I'm so scared. Help me. And Arilana. She can't hardly shoot or protect herself. Be with her.  
  
Arilana was whimpering beside Tielle, silent tears streaking down her cheeks. "Tielle," she gasped, her hands holding her bag so tightly that her knuckles were white, "I'm scared…"  
  
"Pray."  
  
And Tielle continued her own praying. Oh God, I don't want to die. Not yet…  
  
The regiments of troops were in place, all ready for their guests. They all stood at attention as their instructions were repeated over the speakers: "Do not harm the girls. Repeat, do not shoot or harm the girls in anyway. They must be relatively unharmed. Anyone else on the shuttle may be shot at and immediately killed. If they surrender, accept and restrain everyone. Repeat, do not harm the girls. They must be relatively unharmed. Anyone else on the shuttle may be shot at…"  
  
The shuttle settled in its place on the landing dock and the door opened with a hiss of pressurized gases…  
  
Tielle stood behind the mass of bodyguards and waited. She knew that fighting was just a wasted effort and that they were all going to be captured anyway, but at least this way they would take down some of the enemy with them.  
  
The door opened and they ran out. The bodyguards in front of Tielle fell immediately, and Tielle dove and rolled to avoid getting hit herself. She came up firing, taking a perverse satisfaction when the enemy soldier began to fall.  
  
They weren't firing at either her or Arilana, which was a good thing. It meant that they could only be taken by human force, and hopefully they could fire at anyone who tried to reach them.  
  
"Arilana!" Tielle yelled over the din of laser fire. "Press your back to mine!"  
  
They stood together, back to back, as the enemy soldiers began to surround them.  
  
In Chapter Four- Imprisoned, Tielle and Arilana are the lone survivors from their shuttle and are taken prisoner aboard the ship that they find belongs to Fareari… 


	6. Imprisoned

Chapter Four- Imprisoned  
  
Isaiah 33:8- "…The treaty is broken, its witnesses are despised…"  
  
Eventually, they were captured, as Tielle knew they would be. There was never really any hope.  
  
But she still held her head high, and she let the fires of hatred and arrogance burn in her eyes and in her heart. She would never submit her spirit to these captors, even if she did wear their manacles around her wrists!  
  
She and a terrified Arilana were led to the brig of the ship and thrown together in one cell. A solider rifled through their bags and took away the datapad as Tielle knew he would, but he left them with the rest of their things. As soon as he left, Tielle grabbed her book of the Prophets. She frantically turned to a passage that would hopefully reassure Arilana. "Here, Arilana, listen to this: 'So do not fear, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish. Though you search for your enemies, you will not find them. Those who wage war against you will be as nothing at all. For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you'."  
  
"Admirable sentiments, indeed," a cool voice interrupted Tielle. She whipped her head up to see a man reeking of arrogance and authority.  
  
"Who are you?" Tielle demanded, her pulse pounding wildly.  
  
The elderly man chuckled, but his black eyes remained hard. "You are hardly in any position to be making demands, Princess Tielle. And you know it; I can sense the fear emanating from you. Although you do control your fear better than your younger sister here, don't you?"  
  
I can sense the fear… "You're Farearian," Tielle said flatly, not even believing it. Why would they kidnap her when they were negotiating a treaty with Hidon?  
  
The man smiled. "You don't miss a thing, do you, Tielle? You'd make a most wonderful Queen, but unfortunately you will never get the chance. No one will know where you've disappeared to; they'll think that you had an accident in light-space."  
  
Tielle thought of her message to her mother. "Or maybe they won't."  
  
Queen Shari was literally sick with worry. She had vomited when she read Tielle and Arilana's message and then confirmed with Partini that her daughters had not reached Fareari. Partini had canceled all of his appointments and was now attempting to convince King Faihn the need of sending a search party to look for them.  
  
Of course, the Farearian King had so far dedicated none of his resources to the cause, and so only Hidon's military was looking for them. And since they didn't know when the shuttle had been pulled out of light-space, they had to search every parsec of space from Hidon to Fareari.  
  
Queen Shari declared an official emergency and informed Hidon of the missing princesses. She showed them the message that she had received from them.  
  
Instantly other worlds like Ziex and Shansire offered their assistance. Prince Kall even came to Hidon personally to deliver his planet's condolences and pledge their aid. Tielle had chosen a good man.  
  
Queen Shari met with Prince Kall alone in her private office, away from the many eyes of other nobles and the commoners that had come to the palace.  
  
"Prince Kall," Queen Shari began, "as tragic and dire as this hour is, with my daughters and only heirs to the throne missing, there is a… more personal tragedy here, one that I felt was my duty to let you know."  
  
Kall was listening intently now. Queen Shari continued. "Before I received the now-well-known message from Tielle and Arilana, I received another one. In it, Tielle told me of her acceptance to your proposal."  
  
Kall slumped slightly in his chair, shock evident upon his face.  
  
"If and when Tielle returns, we will of course be making an official announcement. Until then we cannot, and truly I do not want to. But when Tielle returns…" she let her words hang in the air.  
  
Kall straightened. "Then, Your Highness, may I consider myself unofficially engaged to Princess Tielle?"  
  
Queen Shari nodded. "You may."  
  
On Fareari, King Partini was having trouble not giving in to his temper and throttling Faihn's scrawny neck.  
  
"King Faihn," he started for the thousandth time, "and help you could give us with finding our princesses would be greatly appreciated. There is too much space between Hidon and Fareari to search alone."  
  
"Ah, but you are not alone, are you? Ziex and Shansire have committed their militaries to searching for the princesses also, or are the news-holos' reports incorrect?"  
  
"No," King Partini rubbed his sore temples, "the news-holos are not incorrect. But please, reconsider. How are we to manage a treaty if you cannot take responsibility for anything that may have happened in your space?"  
  
It had been, King Partini would later reflect, the wrong thing to say.  
  
"Are you saying that you are adverse to peace? Is this treaty too much for you? You want war?"  
  
"No, no," King Partini hastily said, "I only meant-"  
  
"Well, if you do not want war, then leave Fareari," the other King roared. "I cannot be bothered with unwilling and ungrateful Kings like you! There will be no treaty, let me assure you!"  
  
Commander Thash hadn't told Tielle and Arilana anything, but Tielle uneasily noted that he was not the type of man who would mind torturing or killing either of them if the opportunity presented itself.  
  
The fact that he hadn't already tortured them probably meant that he wouldn't or he would have already done so. Perhaps the superior that he had referred to (who Tielle suspected to be the infamous King Faihn) wanted them unharmed.  
  
That was a nice thought.  
  
Commander Thash had said only that the two girls would be taken to Fareari and settled somewhere hidden where they wouldn't be found by Hidonian commandoes. He also said that escape from such a place was impossible and foolish to attempt.  
  
Tielle imagined a prison, hidden away in an island in one of Fareari's many oceans. Or maybe a prison in the woodlands, among the predators of the forest?  
  
Twice a day meals were delivered. They usually consisted of water, Farearian bread that Tielle found disgusting, and occasionally a soggy, over-cooked vegetable. The pathetic meals made Tielle miss the Hidonian palace's delicious banquets and accomplished chefs.  
  
Tielle counted the days by the meals. Eight meals came and went, the equivalent of four days. What was taking so long? It should take merely minutes to get to Fareari, not days. Even traveling to the other side of the planet should take only hours. Tielle couldn't figure out what might be taking so long.  
  
Not that it mattered. She couldn't do anything about it anyway.  
  
Then on the sixth day, Tielle and Arilana were pulled from their cell and escorted down corridors and hallways. Finally they stopped, and a Farearian pushed a button.  
  
A door slid open, and Tielle got her first look at Fareari.  
  
In Chapter Five- Purification Retreat, Tielle and Arilana are imprisoned in the impenetrable Farearian forests… 


	7. Purification Retreat

Chapter Five- Purification Retreat  
  
Psalm 109:2- "for wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me…"  
  
Fareari was beautiful, Tielle realized with a pang of surprise. She had always been taught how evil the Farearians were and had assumed that that must mean that they lived on an ugly planet. That was certainly not so.  
  
They had landed just on the shore of a vast ocean, its borders stretching farther than the eye could see in one direction. In another, forests and woodlands covered the land, creating a vast green all the way to the horizon.  
  
That was all Tielle saw; the next thing she knew she was being blindfolded and pushed forward. She heard a cry from Arilana beside her as she too was shoved forward.  
  
"Stop." Tielle obeyed the rude voice and halted, nervously wondering what was happening.  
  
She felt herself rise and felt a hum beneath her. I'm on a hover-car! She fought down a tide of panic, forcing herself to calm down. She had had an understandable fear of hover-cars ever since Erete, Matani and Thoena's deaths, and it was terrifying enough to ride one without a blindfold, but having one on made it a hundred times worse.  
  
The hum continued, and it was soon joined by a whipping sound. Branches are hitting the hover-car. Since her were eyes cloaked in darkness, Tielle's imagination took over, and she fought back images of tree limbs slapping her face and knocking her off of the 'car. She fervently wished that hover- cars came with roofs and decided that when she became the Queen of Hidon, she would decree that they had to.  
  
After what seemed like millennia, the hum died down and there was a bump as the 'car settled to the ground. Tielle was once again pushed forward, and the hum started up once again. Tielle cringed, imaging the 'car running her and Arilana over.  
  
The 'car's drone died off and rough hands untied Tielle's blindfold. She blinked once or twice and looked up. Standing in front of her was a huge estate, its imposing figure towering over her. Four floors and numerous wings, plus two balconies, made Tielle know that this was not a prison. The grounds were also too well kept, with flowers blossoming everywhere and fountains spurting out crystal water.  
  
Tielle gazed, openmouthed. This place was beautiful and certainly not a prison of any kind. So why were they here?  
  
Two figures emerged from the building, and once they drew near Tielle's photographic memory placed them immediately: Princes Hristen and Chayden P'ashara of the Royal House of Fareari. Tielle drew back in disgust as the two men came closer, their heritage instantly making Tielle despise them. Oh God, deliver me from these evil captors of mine.  
  
The elder, Hristen, smirked and waved at their surroundings. "Good afternoon, Your Highnesses," he said, his blue eyes mocking them, "I do hope you will enjoy your stay at our humble abode, the atate pa'ifain, or Purification Retreat. This is where Farearian royalty go to renew themselves and recenter their lives around the gods." Tielle shuddered to think that she was at a pagan Farearian retreat center. "My name is Prince Hristen P'ashara," Hristen continued. "But then," he added, the smirk still on his face, "you already knew that, because of your 'photographic memories' and all." He sniffed scornfully. "Although I doubt that that is true, and that it is just part of the many lies you tell to the galaxy."  
  
"Is that what you think?" Tielle retorted, her eyes blazing with as much fire as the color of her hair. "Then tell me, Prince Hristen, what was the song that we danced to on the night of my brother's Recognizing Ceremony, when Hidon and Fareari had a tentative peace? And do you recall the color of the earrings I was wearing? Or even the gem?" When Hristen couldn't come up with an answer, Tielle then smirked. "I thought not, Hristen. Very well; the answers are, 'Across Starry Skies', blue, and crystanite. Do you recall any of that?"  
  
Hristen, flustered and embarrassed, boomed, "Do not speak unless you are spoken to!"  
  
Tielle cocked an eyebrow. "I though not. And speaking of lies, was it not Fareari who wanted the peace treaty and yet kidnaps the world's heirs?" Tielle shook her head and finger in unison. "Sorry, that's not how one goes about getting a treaty. Someone needs to check their Diplomacy etiquette."  
  
Hristen babbled some more incomprehensible commands about silence and respect, but his younger brother, Chayden, stepped in between the two verbal sparers. "That's enough," he declared firmly, glaring at Hristen. "Let's bring the two prisoners to their rooms."  
  
Tielle and Arilana were escorted to their rooms, flanked by Farearian soldiers and led by the two princes. Up three floors they went, passing many rooms and going through many hallways. Arilana was gawking at all the apparent wealth, and even Tielle was surprised, although she managed to keep her composure and outward indifference.  
  
They were obviously being led to the highest floor so that if they did manage to escape from their rooms, the jump would kill or seriously hurt them, and if they didn't jump they'd have to navigate through all of the floors and hallways of the large manor, which would probably prove to be an impossible feat. Realizing this made Tielle wonder how they were ever going to get out of this place.  
  
The two fair-haired princes stopped abruptly, and Hristen took a key from a large set of keys at his waist. He opened the door and barked at Arilana, "You! Come here!" She disappeared into the room before Tielle had a chance to get even a glimpse of it.  
  
The next room was Tielle's, and she tentatively stepped inside, only to be shocked at what she saw.  
  
Her room was not a cell or prison of any kind. Instead, it was a huge room, complete with a small deck leading off of it. A huge bed with a canopy, dresser, bookshelf (void of books, but there nonetheless), and walk-in closest gave Tielle the impression that she was an esteemed guest and not a hated prisoner.  
  
She walked out onto the deck, dumbfounded. A view of treetops and a lake greeted her, and a gentle, warm breeze kissed her face and touched her hair. In the distance the sun was setting, and the scene was very picturesque, perhaps not as much as Hidon's towering mountains and sweeping valleys, but it was beautiful even so. What a pretty place, God! Your handiwork is exquisite!  
  
When she walked back into her room, the deck's doors closed automatically behind her, and Tielle marveled at it. Why would they give a prisoner all the luxuries of a privileged visitor?  
  
Hristen and Chayden were waiting there, the door shut behind them. They looked like they had something to say, and so Tielle sat down on her large, soft bed and waited.  
  
The elder prince looked distinctly unhappy. "I know that you will be wondering why you have these luxurious accommodations. The gods know you don't deserve them, but my father gave us strict instructions to give you only the best that we have to offer. Only the gods know what he was thinking," Hristen finished with a frown marring his handsome face.  
  
Chayden continued. "It's so that when you return to Hidon, you will not be able to complain of being ill-treated." Perhaps reading Tielle's expression of hope, he confirmed, "And you will be returning to Hidon, eventually. We have no plans of… disposing of you."  
  
"And Arilana?"  
  
"She will also return to Hidon unscathed."  
  
She'd better, Tielle thought sullenly. "So then why are we here at all if you're not going to kill us?"  
  
Hristen had recovered from his displeasure and replied with a wicked grin, "Oh, you're here to give us leverage with your father. With the gods' help, we will exchange you for your planet."  
  
Many light-years and parsecs away, Hidon mourned the kidnapping of their princesses as Queen Shari declared that they would find those responsible and make them pay and recover the princesses safely.  
  
One who watched the new-holos and the Queen's patriotic speech knew otherwise. If everything proceeded as planned, and so far it had, the princesses would never return to Hidon and would in fact perish on the planet of their enemies.  
  
In Chapter Seven- First Impressions, Tielle and Arilana settle into their places as captives on Fareari and take different opinions on Prince Chayden's personality… 


	8. First Impressions

Chapter Six- First Impressions  
  
Lamentations 2:18- "…let your tears flow like a river…"  
  
Fareari wanted to take over Hidon.  
  
The realization swirled though Tielle's mind and clouded her senses. She stared, shocked, at the two Farearian princes in front of her and clenched her jaw and fist in unison.  
  
Hristen smiled. "I see that the idea of Hidon under a Farearian rule angers you. Excellent."  
  
The man's arrogance made Tielle want to leap up and rip his head off…  
  
With some effort, Tielle forced her hatred down. It would do no good here, not when both men were armed and she an unarmed prisoner. All she'd do is get herself shot.  
  
"Now," Hristen continued, "I must leave and report to Father that you have, in fact, arrived safely. Chayden will tell you the rules."  
  
Hristen left, the door automatically closing behind him. Tielle turned to Chayden and glared at him.  
  
He seemed to take no notice. "You will notice, first of all, that you are unable to open your door from the inside. Even if you do manage to, using methods that I cannot imagine, there will be an armed guard standing outside of your door at all times. Trying to escape will be futile, unless you are willing to jump-" he gestured to the deck, "but even then, there are watchmen patrolling the grounds if you do not break your neck."  
  
"So I have to stay in here all day, every day?" Tielle protested. "What if I want to talk to Arilana?"  
  
Chayden shook his head. "You will not be in here all the time. If you prove to be cooperative, you will be allowed to see your sister on supervised expeditions through the forest. If you are uncooperative, you will not be allowed to see your sister and will be confined to this room.  
  
"You will also join Hristen and I for our midday meal once a Standard week. This will be required, and failure to attend will, again, result in a loss of the opportunity to see your sister."  
  
Tielle wondered why they would want to have lunch with her but just asked, "Will Arilana also be coming for lunch?"  
  
The prince shook his blond head. "No. As you are the Crown Princess, my father wants Hristen to provide a report on your activities once a week."  
  
And he doesn't really care about your younger sister, Tielle read between the lines sarcastically, hating the Farearian and his rules and explanations. Although his explanation still didn't satisfy Tielle as to why she had to join them for a meal once a week.  
  
Whatever. No matter. They're Farearian; they don't make sense. If they did they would have not kidnapped me while negotiating a treaty with my world.  
  
Prince Chayden watched this fierce princess with admitted fascination. She emanated with hatred, anger and defiance, whereas her sister had radiated of fear, submission and timidity. What made the two so different? Perhaps Tielle's position as Crown Princess has instilled more pride and haughtiness in her personality.  
  
Chayden's thoughts were interrupted as the door behind him slid open. "Your Highness," a page stepped inside, "this was what the prisoner had with her." He held up a bag and Chayden took it from him.  
  
"Thank you. Dismissed." Chayden rummaged through the belongings and felt the princess's resentment at him looking through her possessions.  
  
Dresses, brushes and similarly unimportant items filled most of the sack, but Chayden also found some books. He frowned and paged through one, reading,  
  
Do you not know?  
  
Have you not heard?  
  
The Lord is the everlasting God,  
  
the Creator of the ends of the earth.  
  
He will not grow tired or weary,  
  
and his understanding no one can fathom.  
  
He gives strength to the weary  
  
and increases the power of the weak.  
  
Even youths grow tired and weary,  
  
and young men stumble and fall;  
  
but those who hope in the Lord  
  
will renew their strength.  
  
They will soar on wings like eagles;  
  
they will run and not grow weary,  
  
they will walk and not be faint.  
  
The last five lines of the passage had been underlined, and Chayden wondered if this nonsense was supposed to mean anything. "What's this?" he asked aloud, looking up at the princess.  
  
She rose from the bed and took it from him. "It's one of my Holy Books."  
  
Chayden cocked a brow. "Holy Books? You mean religious teachings?"  
  
The princess curtly nodded.  
  
"You Hidonians are monotheists, are you not?"  
  
"Yes, we believe in only one God."  
  
Chayden shook his head. How could one god ever be powerful enough to create a universe, a galaxy spanning farther than the imagination could dream, with billions of peoples, each different? It was impossible, which was why Farearians believed in many gods, each different from the others.  
  
The princess's impatience levels grew. "Yes?" Chayden asked. "What do you want?"  
  
"Well, can I have my stuff or not?" The princess gestured to her bag, now lying forgotten on the floor.  
  
"Oh, yes, that's fine," Chayden replied absentmindedly, leaving the room as the princess eagerly grabbed the rest of her Holy Books and placed them in the dusty bookshelf.  
  
King Faihn shut off the view-screen and leaned back in his chair, a wicked smile playing across his lips. So the princesses had arrived at Purification Retreat, had they? Perfect. The retreat was deep in one of hundreds of forests on Fareari, and since no one knew that it was he who had kidnapped the princesses, no one would search for them there.  
  
Once he decided to reveal himself, he would have extreme leverage with that fool King Partini, and he would be able to claim Hidon as his. But if the pompous King of Hidon refused to give Hidon to him…well, he had killed "innocents" before, and he would have no qualms about doing it again.  
  
And if the princesses were destroyed, Grand Duke Klane would ascend to the throne and eventually become King of Hidon. Klane resented his older brother and his older brother's power and prestige, all of which could have been his if not for a twist of birthright.  
  
Klane had proven useful in notifying Faihn of the princesses' unexpected trip to Fareari. Perhaps Faihn would be able to make further use of this traitor who was only to eager to do anything if it hurt his brother's family.  
  
Tielle gazed over the treetops of Fareari. Darkness was quickly descending upon the land, and who knew what the next day would bring?  
  
The captive princess gazed over the foreign and uninviting world, reflecting on her day. Hristen had proven to be hostile and arrogant, showing no remorse or pity for the princesses who had been placed under him. Chayden, however, had seemed less spiteful, although he had shown no great compassion or sympathy for either princess or their dilemma.  
  
In short, Tielle and Arilana had been captured, separated, and placed at the mercy of malicious enemies, with no allies or friends.  
  
None but God, Tielle reminded herself, and He is greater than a thousand allies of any kind. He will protect us.  
  
He must.  
  
And Tielle finally gave into her grief and sank to the floor, weeping bitterly.  
  
After a night of restless and nightmare-filled sleep, Tielle awoke and rose from her bed. She carefully dressed and got ready for the day, even though she had no idea what it would bring.  
  
It was still dark, Tielle having woken up in the morning according to Hidon's day cycle, but not Fareari's. Tielle belatedly realized that she didn't know Fareari's day cycle.  
  
Eventually the sun started to creep over the horizon, and Tielle took her book of the Prophets outside with her as she watched the sunrise. I will probably be reading a lot more of my Holy Books in the future, she told herself wryly. There's not going to be much more to do.  
  
After about an hour of reading, Tielle heard the door inside slide open. She stood up and went back inside to see Hristen, with the smirk that was becoming familiar firmly etched in his face. "Ah, good, you're up. So is your sister; she wants to see you. Chayden will be taking you two outside."  
  
Tielle followed Hristen downstairs and outside, where Arilana, Chayden, and a couple of other guards were waiting. "I won't be coming," Hristen told his brother and left. Good riddance, Tielle thought spitefully.  
  
Chayden and the guards led Tielle and Arilana to a small pond in the midst of the forest and watched from a distance as the two talked.  
  
"How is your room?" Tielle wanted to know. "Is it very big?"  
  
Arilana nodded vigorously, her eyes wide. "It's huge. There's a dresser and lots of windows, and a very soft bed, although I didn't get much sleep last night." Her voice trembled slightly, and Tielle read between the lines. Arilana was sensitive and easily shaken. This experience was too much for her.  
  
"Hey, it's okay," Tielle soothed her, "we're together, and Fareari is beautiful, and we'll get back to Hidon. Prince Chayden told me we would."  
  
Arilana's back straightened. "Then we will. Prince Chayden's nice; he wouldn't lie."  
  
Tielle glanced over a Chayden, who was watching them with interest. She quickly turned away and looked back at Arilana. What did Arilana see in Chayden that inspired such confidence in him? Was Tielle missing something? 


	9. The Value of Children

Chapter Seven- The Value of Children  
  
Proverbs 17:6- "… children are a crown to the aged…"  
  
King Partini returned to Hidon with a heavy heart. His wife met his private shuttle on his private launchpad. The two spent a day together, talking and planning. Partini told Shari of what had happened on Fareari; Shari told Partini of what had happened on Hidon and of Tielle's acceptance to Kall's proposal.  
  
King Partini then met with his military leaders and received an update on the search for his daughers. "We have searched every parsec from here to Fareari," Admiral Tynsworth gravely informed the King, "and even with the help of Ziex and Shansire's militaries there is no sign of either princess or any spacecraft, except for faint energy-pulses near Fareari."  
  
King Partini frowned. Energy-pulses were generated by large spacecraft, much larger than shuttles, and were used to track ships. Sensors could pick up on energy-pulses in a particular place sometimes days after the ship had actually been there. "Were the energy-pulses in a place that spacecraft would normally travel through?"  
  
The admiral shook his balding head. "No. That is why I mentioned them. It is the only thing that we have found out of place. I believe that it is our best lead."  
  
"Are there any distinct frequencies coming from the pulses?"  
  
"No. There is no way of telling who might have been there. The trail is too old."  
  
"But if, as you said, it is the best lead we have, then use it and keep searching. Keep trying until we know who has stolen my daughters or where they have been taken."  
  
Hristen watched the arrogant princess descend the long staircase, her head held high and proud. She had dressed in her best, a pitiful show of pride for the helpless prisoner.  
  
She sat down, glaring at him with those bright green eyes. Together with her fiery red hair, those eyes were tantalizing. She was really quite beautiful, and had she not been Hidonian and his prisoner, Hristen would have enjoyed getting to know her. Unfortunately, she was Hidonian, and a very willful one at that.  
  
"Tielle," Hristen greeted her, purposely not using her title. "How kind of you to join us."  
  
Hatred radiated off of her like light off of the sun as she glared at him. Chayden sent disapproving waves at Hristen.  
  
Hristen turned to his brother, not caring if Chayden didn't like his goading. This was a Hidonian, after all. She deserved to be put in her place.  
  
"I watched some news-holos today," Hristen mentioned casually, and he felt her curiosity and desire. She wanted to know what was happening to her planet, but she didn't want him to know that she did. He grinned. "There's no point in thinking that you can hide what you're feeling, you know. I can sense your hatred even as you sit here."  
  
She looked up at him with a look of disbelief in her eyes. "A blind and deaf man could sense my hatred. It's not that hidden."  
  
"It's strange how you hate us so much when your sister fears us instead," Chayden spoke, taking a sip from his glass. "Why is that?"  
  
The girl seemed to be eager for an actual conversation and replied, "Arilana is only fourteen. She is young and relatively defenseless. The only reaction that would make sense for her is fear. But I am older, and more set in my ways." That was an understatement, Hristen thought. "Plus I have to be the strong one for both of us. I can't waste my time on fear or panic. And as the future Queen of Hidon, I don't think that fear is a useful emotion."  
  
Future Queen of Hidon! She was dreaming.  
  
"And you are not defenseless, as your sister is?" Hristen smirked. The girl had only her bare hands.  
  
She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Get me a laser and I'll show you how defenseless I am," she replied coolly, confidence oozing out of her. Hristen made a mental note to make sure that she would never get a laser.  
  
After lunch Tielle and Chayden went outside once again. Tielle had "acted out of order" at lunch, according to Hristen, (although Tielle thought that she had been fairly civil) and so Arilana had not been allowed to come with them for reasons that Tielle couldn't figure out. Again, she just attributed it to Farearian senselessness.  
  
This time Tielle brought Proverbs and the Prophets with her, since Arilana wouldn't be there to talk with. Tielle felt a pang of remorse that Arilana was being forced to stay inside for something that she had done.  
  
Chayden once again led her to the small pond. Tielle sat down by the banks and began to read her books while the prince skipped stones along the smooth water, causing ripples. Tielle realized that she was watching him and not reading and quickly turned back to her book, only to lose concentration again.  
  
Prince Chayden was, well...handsome. He was tall and blond with a muscular build, more so than Hristen. He glanced at her, and she noted his square jaw and sparkling blue eyes.  
  
She could endure the silence no longer and blurted, "Where are the rest of the guards?"  
  
He looked at her, probably surprised that she was speaking to him. "I didn't think I'd need them. You are only one person, and I thought you'd be cooperative and wouldn't try to escape with your sister still in the manor. And if you did try-" he shrugged and touched the laser at his hip. "I too am I very good shot." Laughter danced in his eyes, and Tielle had the uneasy feeling that she was being made fun of.  
  
"So why did I get to come out here and not Arilana? I'm the one who was supposedly being bad," Tielle took a stone and skipped it across the small pond.  
  
"Well, I thought that it would be a bigger punishment if Arilana was punished instead. I doubt you'd care if you had to stay inside, but you seem to care for your sister very much."  
  
Tielle felt her cheeks heat up. How could this stranger read her so well? He was gene-altered, but so was Hristen, and he hadn't caught on that Arilana meant so much to her. Tielle had become more protective of Arilana ever since Erete, Matani and Thoena had died. Arilana was all she had left of her siblings, and, here on Fareari, her only link to her family.  
  
"How many siblings do you have?" She asked impulsively, more to change the course of her thoughts than anything.  
  
Chayden skipped a stone. "Me? Twelve."  
  
Tielle gaped at him. "You're not serious."  
  
"Very. In Farearian society, children are valued, and the more children you have, the more prestigious you are. In fact, Farearian royals must wed by twenty and have children of their own by twenty-one."  
  
"Or else what?"  
  
"Or else we're disowned."  
  
"Disowned?" That seemed pretty harsh to Tielle. On Hidon, the only law regarding royals and matrimony was that both the father and the daughter or son had to agree on the daughter or son's spouse.  
  
Chayden nodded. "Yes. Or we get disowned."  
  
Tielle frowned. "How old is Hristen?"  
  
"Twenty. He's already married, but his wife is in Citaege right now." Chayden looked at Tielle. "You know, the capital of Fareari?"  
  
"Yes, I know what Citaege is," Tielle snapped impatiently, looking out at the pond. She glanced back and Chayden and wondered how old he was. She then wondered why she even cared.  
  
In Chapter Eight- The Death of Pride, an evil plot that is carried out crushes Tielle and leaves her broken… 


	10. The Death of Pride

Chapter Eight- The Death of Pride  
  
Proverbs 16:18- "Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall."  
  
The next day Hristen allowed the younger sister to come outside with Tielle, and Chayden once again accompanied them, watching them closely as they lounged by the pond's side.  
  
Arilana was relieved just to see her older sister again, and Tielle was too, although she hid it with an exterior of nonchalance and boredom.  
  
It's as though she doesn't want to show emotion to us, Chayden mused, noting her frequent glances in his direction. As if she thinks any emotion other than hatred or anger shows weakness.  
  
She was very proud, Chayden could tell, and weakness was obviously not something she was comfortable with. Arilana, on the other hand, was open and honest about her feelings, and not at all ashamed to admit that she was scared.  
  
"We need to pray, Tielle," Chayden heard the younger sister say, settling down beside the Crown Princess, "since we can't do anything, we have to ask God to."  
  
Tielle grudgingly agreed, and the two bowed their heads and offered their petition to their god. Arilana openly asked for help, while Tielle asked for strength and guidance. Chayden got the impression that Tielle was hoping to bust out of her prison without much divine help, although it would be appreciated if her god were willing.  
  
Yes, she was proud. Arrogance and self-confidence emanated off of her, whereas her younger sister was much more agreeable and likable.  
  
So then why was it Tielle who fascinated him?  
  
Chayden looked over at Tielle, her red hair that was as fiery as her personality reflecting the sun like a halo of glory.  
  
And she is glorified on Hidon. She is the Crown Princess. I would do well to remember that, Chayden rebuked himself, turning away from the tantalizing princess.  
  
Klane Satine on Hidon carefully watched the news-holos to see if anyone had any hint of where the princess might be. No one seemed to, but that did not reassure him. Partini could easily be withholding information from the public if he wanted to.  
  
So Klane ventured to his older brother's palace and requested an audience with him. The petite secretary frowned and said, "His Majesty is not currently seeing anyone. I'm sorry."  
  
Klane smiled a hard smile, not meant to give off any warmth. "Perhaps you do not understand. I am his brother, next in line for the throne if anything happens to the Princesses Tielle and Arilana." And most assuredly, something will happen to them. Soon.  
  
The secretary bit her lip and sighed. "I can tell His Majesty that you've been here, but I make no promises. He has had very little time for anyone since the Princesses' disappearances. Might you want to speak to the Queen instead?"  
  
"That won't be necessary," King Partini interrupted, stepping out of his lavish office. "I can speak to you now, Klane."  
  
"Excellent," Klane purred, shooting a triumphant glance at the secretary, who just went back to work on her datapad. "I know that you are very busy, but I had to come and express my sympathies."  
  
Partini nodded curtly and gestured to his office. The two men went inside, and Klane sat down on a chair in front of the large, ornate desk that Partini prized so much.  
  
"Has there been any sign of the Princesses? Anything at all?" Klane asked, expressing false concern.  
  
Partini shook his head grimly. "All we have found is faint energy-pulses outside of Fareari. But that just shows us where they were kidnapped and nothing more. We still don't know who kidnapped them, their motive, or where they took the girls. We are devoting all of our resources to finding them, but I fear that it is rather hopeless."  
  
"But surely the Princesses haven't been harmed? Won't the captors demand a ransom of some sort, or something?"  
  
Partini sighed. "Hopefully. But so far we have received nothing."  
  
Klane hid his pleasure at this. Excellent. Then King Faihn was enjoying toying with Partini. That would make it that much easier to do away with the only two people who stood between him and the throne.  
  
King Faihn was indeed enjoying watching Hidon in such a panicked state. He intended to trade the princesses for Hidon eventually, but for now he was having such fun seeing Hidon, Shansire and Ziex conduct such a desperate search.  
  
And they would not find the princesses. They did not suspect Fareari, because why would Fareari kidnap the princesses if they had initiated a peace treaty?  
  
Why, indeed, unless that peace treaty had been a farce and they had just wanted to get the princesses all the time.  
  
Faihn smiled. It was working too well. That traitor Klane had been only too eager to inform Faihn when the princesses had come to Fareari, making their capture simple. Everything had gone far better than Faihn could have ever hoped.  
  
The only potential wrinkle was Klane. Faihn knew of his plot to get the throne, and that could only be accomplished by the demise of the two princesses. Perhaps Klane was hoping that Faihn would finish them off, but the princesses were of no use to him dead. If Klane realized that, he might get daring and attempt to assassinate the princesses himself.  
  
If he could find the princesses. But that would prove to be very difficult. They were hidden well, and protected well also. Faihn wasn't worried.  
  
Faihn broke out of his thoughts and turned on the news-holos, smiling when a distraught Queen Shari addressed the public to keep them informed on the progress of what would prove to be a futile search.  
  
Tielle woke up with a jolt, sweaty and panting. She had had a nightmare, one that had haunted her after her older siblings' deaths, but one that she had not had for months. Why did it have to come back now?  
  
Sighing, Tielle turned in her bed in a vain attempt to get comfortable. It was no use; she couldn't get back to sleep.  
  
She rose from her bed, put her robe on, and walked out onto the deck. It was the middle of the night, and a cool breeze was blowing. Tielle pushed her hair back from her face and looked out at the stars. Was one of them really Hidon? Was it night there? Were her parents fast asleep, or up, busy coordinating search parties?  
  
Tielle heard a snap below her and she backed away from the edge of the balcony, momentarily frightened. Then she slowly crept to the edge again and looked down. In the dim light of the moon, she saw a figure down there, looking up at her. Could it see her?  
  
A cable of rope suddenly shot up at Tielle, and she backed away quickly, watching as the rope, which, on closer inspection was actually a thick cord, fixed itself onto the balcony with a graphling hook.  
  
I'm being rescued! Tielle excitedly thought, and she turned and gathered her belongings, waiting for her rescuer to be pulled up.  
  
He came quickly and jumped over the edge of the balcony. "Princess!" he exclaimed, surprised at seeing her awake.  
  
"I-" Tielle started, only to be interrupted as her door burst open and the guard posted outside of her door ran in, his laser drawn and held ready.  
  
"No!" Tielle exclaimed as the guard fired. She instinctively hit the floor, but she needn't of. The guard's aim was perfect, and his victim fell to the floor.  
  
Tielle got up and ran to her rescuer, knowing that it was useless. He was dead.  
  
The guard had pulled out a tiny comdevice and spoke into it. "The Crown Princess is safe. Attacker is dead."  
  
"Attacker!" Tielle exclaimed angrily. "He wasn't attacking me! He-"  
  
"Princess," the guard interrupted her, "he was. He was an assassin."  
  
"Sent by who? Who wants to assassin me, other than you Farearians? I don't believe it. He was here to-" Tielle broke off. "Where is Arilana? Did she escape?" Is that why they had thought to check on her? Because they had discovered the Arilana was gone?  
  
The guard shook his head. "Not exactly."  
  
"Where is she, then? I want to see her!"  
  
"Fine. Come with me."  
  
Tielle was led to Arilana's room, where dozens of people had gathered and were milling around the room. In the middle of it all were Hristen and Chayden, furiously barking out orders and listening to pages.  
  
Tielle ran to Arilana's bed, where medics with all sorts of equipment were busily working and yelling at each other. Silent tears began to stream down Tielle's cheeks.  
  
She elbowed her way to the bedside. "Hey! What are you doing?" Someone yelled, and she screamed back, "I'm her sister!"  
  
Arilana laid there, her eyes closed and her face in a peaceful expression of sleep. The only thing marring her youthful image was a splotch of crimson red on her chest, seeping through her nightgown.  
  
Tielle backed away. Medics rushed in to fill the gap where she had been, but one dashed all of Tielle's hopes when he shook his head sadly and said, "It's no use. She's gone."  
  
Great gasping sobs erupted from Tielle then, and she turned to flee the room. A hand on her arm stopped her though, and she desperately fought it. "Let me go!" she demanded through tears, "let me go!"  
  
"Tielle."  
  
She stopped thrashing and looked up at Chayden.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
My last sibling was just assassinated! What do you think!  
  
For once Tielle didn't use a sarcastic retort, however. She just looked up at Chayden, who had compassion shining in his eyes, and fell into his arms, sobbing. 


	11. Change of Heart

Part Two- Love  
  
Chapter Nine- Change of Heart  
  
Proverbs 28:14- "Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble."  
  
After Tielle had cried until she could cry no more, and her throat was raw and her eyes were burning, she pulled away from Chayden, embarrassed. She looked down at the floor and meekly asked, "Can I go to my room?"  
  
"Certainly not," Hristen brusquely said. Tielle sighed and wondered why Hristen had to have seen her crying her heart out in his younger brother's arms. "Someone knows that that is your room, and so it would be very foolish to put you back there." He paused. "Unless you're in a hurry to join your sister."  
  
Tears welled up in Tielle's eyes and Chayden sternly said, "Hristen!"  
  
Tielle didn't look up, but she could see Hristen's smirk as he replied, "Ah, come on, Chayden, I'm just having some fun with her. She's just a Hidionian prisoner. She doesn't matter."  
  
His cruel words pierced Tielle, and she thought, *That's the same attitude I had towards Farearians. How conceited and wicked I was! Some witness to God. I don't deserve to be His child, or even Hidon's Queen one day. I am so evil.*  
  
Chayden lightly tapped Tielle's arm, and she snapped back to the present. "Come with me," he said, and Tielle wearily obliged as he led her to her new room. She went inside and collapsed on the bed, weeping bitterly.  
  
Once things were under control, Hristen went into the communications room and contacted his father in Citaege. As the frequencies connected, Hristen nervously fiddled with his fingers on the machinery. His father was not going to be pleased with this turn of events.  
  
"King Faihn is occupied at this time. Please leave a message." A computerized voice said, and Hristen snorted. His father would only be busy sleeping.  
  
"Direct voice override authorized by Prince Hristen P'ashara," Hristen intoned, "code A7H3XAI2O."  
  
"Code accepted. Voice override match confirmed. Please hold for King Faihn." The voice replied, and minutes later a noticeably irritated King Faihn appeared in the viewscreen. "By the gods, what are you contacting me for, Hristen? You had better have a good reason!"  
  
"Princess Arilana was assassinated half a Standard hour ago," Hristen replied. "Is that a good enough reason to contact you?"  
  
"Watch your mouth, son. Sarcasm is not usually an acceptable trait when addressing a king," Faihn retorted automatically, deep in thought. "What about Tielle? Was she killed too?"  
  
"No. Her guard managed to thwart the would-be assassin."  
  
"And were all of the assassins caught?"  
  
"They were all killed. Unfortunately, none could be captured to interrogate. There is no way of knowing who was behind the assassinations."  
  
Faihn swore. "Oh, I know who was behind the assassinations alright. The question is, how did he know where they were?" The king paused for a moment, then swore again. "When he told us of the princesses' trip to Fareari! He probably traced the frequency and listened in on us when I gave the order to put the princesses at the Retreat!" Faihn swore again.  
  
"Who, Father? Who traced the frequency?"  
  
"Hm? Oh, never mind that. Just get the princess away from the Retreat."  
  
"Where should we move her to?"  
  
"Perhaps the island prison. We probably should have had her there to begin; it is harder to infiltrate without being noticed. Ah, well, it's too late now. I'll contact the prison and tomorrow you can move the princess there."  
  
"As you wish," Hristen bowed slightly, "and shall Chayden and I accompany her there?"  
  
"Yes, I think so. I'll create some lie about your whereabouts, so don't worry about that."  
  
"Very well." Hristen smiled as inspiration struck him. "Father, when you do reveal to Hidon that you have the princess, you can pretend that you have both of them, you know. Because-"  
  
"All of the assassins were killed! Brilliant, Hristen!"  
  
Hristen glowed with pride. Compliments from Faihn were few and far between.  
  
"Excellent. That's what I'll do, then. And I think I will do so a couple days after you have settled in on the island."  
  
"What will you do if Partini refuses to turn Hidon over to you in exchange for the princess."  
  
The wicked pleasure in Faihn's smile was also in his voice. "Then they will give Hidon to us out of mercy when the princess undergoes torture."  
  
***  
  
The day after Arilana's death, Tielle went outside one last time. She breathed deep the scent of the woods and dipped her fingertips into the water that she and her sister had prayed beside the day before.  
  
Chayden watched her from a distance, seemingly to give her room to grieve. But instead of crying any more tears, Tielle took her Holy Books. She randomly flipped through one and stopped when a highlighted verse caught her eye. " 'For I desire mercy, not sacrifice'," Tielle whispered to herself. "Mercy." Mercy, which ultimately led to forgiveness. Tielle glanced at Chayden. He was kind to her, and easy to forgive, but Hristen? And King Faihn? Her sister's assassin?  
  
Again Tielle randomly flipped through her book and found another highlighted verse: "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."  
  
Love. Could Tielle ever learn to love those who hated her? Could she ever learn not to hate?  
  
She could try.  
  
Tielle thought of Arilana. She had never shown hatred towards anyone, not even the Farearians. Fear, yes, but never hatred. She had not drowned in pride the way that Tielle had. In many, many ways she had had more understanding of God's ways than Tielle did.  
  
Arilana. Tielle felt her eyes grow damp once again, but she blinked back the tears and bowed her head.  
  
*God, I have been proud, arrogant, hateful, sinful, and not at all what You want me to be. I am sorry. I am sorry. Have I ever said those words to anyone, ever? How proud I am, indeed.  
  
Please help me. I am weak and cannot be loving, humble and contrite on my own. I need You. Somewhere along the way I forgot that. I thought that I could do everything on my own.  
  
Maybe that's part of the reason You took Arilana. To wake me up and to show me that I was far too proud before. If that was the reason for Arilana's death, then I cannot let her die in vain. I have to try to be better. I have to try to show mercy and love. Please help me with that, God.*  
  
Tielle raised her head and smiled. It was a weak smile, to be sure, but it was a smile nonetheless.  
  
***  
  
Chayden watched the princess take in her surroundings and see everything with new eyes. She knew that she was going to be leaving this place tomorrow and probably wanted to savor the place where she had been with her deceased sister in Arilana's last days in the galaxy.  
  
Tielle flipped though her one of her Holy Books and read a verse. She paused to think about it, thoughtfulness momentarily stronger than grief in her emotions. She bowed her head and prayed, and when she looked up again, she was smiling and she radiated of sad hope and mournful serenity instead of deep grief and intense despair.  
  
What comfort her religion seemed to be to her in her time of sorrow! It made Chayden wonder if perhaps there was more to her one god than there was to his dozens. At least this one god seemed to give Tielle more solace than Chayden's gods had ever given him.  
  
Chayden decided to ask her about that. He went over to her and sat down by her side. She closed her books and turned to him. "Yes?"  
  
He gestured to her books. "What were you reading? I sensed peacefulness in your emotions when you were reading."  
  
He noted with interest that she didn't recoil in disgust when he referred to his gene-altering as she had before. What had caused that change? Tielle reopened her books. "Here, this verse: 'Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers all wrongs.' I was wondering if it was possible for me to ever forgive Arilana's assassin out of love. Love," she murmured, looking out into Fareari's forests. "It is the hardest lesson to learn, and the way I learned it was truly horrible…"  
  
Chayden could think of nothing to say, so he remained silent until the princess snapped out of her thoughts and turned to him. "When am I to be moved?"  
  
"No one said you were going to be moved."  
  
She gave him a withering stare. "Don't insult my intelligence. If someone knows that I'm here, I need to be moved."  
  
Chayden gave in. "Alright, I'll tell you, even though Hristen would have my head if he knew. You're being moved tomorrow."  
  
"Tomorrow?" Tielle mulled that over. "Oh, don't worry about Hristen. I'm not in the habit of confiding anything in him."  
  
Chayden chuckled weakly. He knew what question was coming next. Sure enough:  
  
"Where am I going?"  
  
Chayden swallowed. Hard. "You're being relocated to *K'ya se tino*, on an island in the middle of one of Farerari's many oceans."  
  
"And what does *K'ya se tino* mean in Standard?"  
  
"Hidden Fortress."  
  
"Hidden Fortress?" Tielle gaped at him, then stated flatly, "It's a prison, isn't it?"  
  
Reluctantly nodding, Chayden met her fearful gaze. "Yes, it is."  
  
"And what- what kind of criminals are there?" She asked, her voice catching.  
  
"The dangerous ones," Chayden looked away. "The serial killers, terrorists, and others awaiting the death penalty."  
  
"The, the death penalty." Tielle's sense radiated of denial and extreme fear… but underlying confidence was also there. "Are you coming too?"  
  
Chayden nodded. "I will not leave you there alone with Hristen." *Especially when they begin the interrogation.* 


	12. The Message to Hidon

Chapter Ten- The Message to Hidon  
  
Psalm 6:2- "Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am faint; O Lord, heal me, for my  
  
bones are in agony. My soul in is anguish. How long, O Lord, how long?  
  
  
  
Early the next morning, after a restless night filled with nightmares and tears, Tielle was woken and brought outside where a hover-car waited to take her to her next prison. Chayden and Hristen were both there, Hristen smirking, and Chayden's eyes shimmering with compassion. Tielle could not bring herself to look at either of the princes, and instead she gazed at the ground as her hands were tightly and roughly bound behind her.  
  
She was shoved onto the 'car, and an overwhelming panic overcame her. Arilana's death had made her fear of hover-cars a hundred times worse, and she began to sweat and hyperventilate. "I can't do this," she whispered to no one in particular, her throat suddenly dry.  
  
Chayden heard her and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "You'll be fine."  
  
"No. No! I can't, I can't do this. I-"  
  
Looking her in the eye, Chayden said, "I will be right here beside you."  
  
Hristen appeared suddenly, much to Tielle's chagrin. "Oh, is poor Princess Tielle afraid of the big bad hover-car?" His wicked grin and mocking tone made Tielle force her fear down and replace it with anger directed at Hristen and her plight. A shadow of her former pride resurfaced itself, and as she was blindfolded, Tielle's eyes glimmered with a spark of their previous fire.  
  
***  
  
They reached the ocean and Hristen allowed Tielle's blindfold to come off. Chayden watched as the princess gazed in wonder over the seemingly unending waters. Awe filled her sense, but grief and fear still lay beneath the surface.  
  
Hristen would try to further that grief and fear, Chayden knew, so he felt that it was his responsibility to try to ease it, or at the very least no provoke it. For that reason he had borught Tielle's Holy Books, and he would have been ashamed to admit that instead of doing his nightly meditations the evening before, he had read Tielle's religious teachings.  
  
They were fascinating. Filled with more wisdom, prophesy and commands than he could have ever imagined. Many things had been unclear and confusing to him, however, and he had some questions that he was eager to ask Tielle.  
  
His questions would have to wait, though; they had crossed the ocean and were at the prison. An entourage of guards escorted Tielle inside, and when she was out of earshot, Chayden leaned close to his older brother. "When is Father telling Hidon that we have the princess?"  
  
"Today." Hristen's eyes gleamed with anticipation that made Chayden uneasy. "And today we will give Hidon a reason to weep as their beloved Heir suffers."  
  
***  
  
After only a few hours of being locked in a dark, dingy cell slightly removed from the rest of the abrasive and repulsive inmates, Tielle was escorted to another, much, much, *much* smaller room and told to sit there and wait.  
  
Wait for what? Tielle thought, but she did not ask. She had a feeling that she did not want to know.  
  
Her answer came soon anyway.  
  
***  
  
On Hidon, King Partini was interrupted from his work by his secretary. "I'm busy!" he snapped at her, but she stoutly said, "Queen Shari is waiting to speak to you. She says it is a matter of extreme importance, a galactic matter that cannot be put off."  
  
King Partini dismissed the secretary and slapped the button on his view- screen. "What?"  
  
Shari was flushed as she burst, "King Faihn is transmitting a system-wide message to everyone in our system. He says he has news of our daughters."  
  
***  
  
In the palace on Shansire, Prince Kall and his father watched as King Faihn promised them that it was worth their time to listen to him. "I know exactly where the princesses of Hidon are, and I will tell you now."  
  
***  
  
"Where? Where?! Where are they?!?!" Partini exploded at the holo-screen as Faihn tiptoed around saying anything definite.  
  
***  
  
"The princesses are safe, that I guarantee you," Faihn continued as Pioti Ytin, a simple farmer on Hidon, watched. "How much longer they will be that way, I cannot say. It depends on King Partini."  
  
***  
  
In the large and fabulously lavish palace on Ziex, the Queen calmly watched, proving the widely believed idea that Ziex did not let their emotions show if they even felt any emotions at all. The next few words were enough to *almost* enough to rattle even Queen Tenia, however.  
  
"The princesses are on Fareari, under my imprisonment. There they will remain until King Partini agrees to unconditionally surrender to Fareari."  
  
***  
  
"I will never surrender to you!" King Partini exploded at the holo-screen.  
  
***  
  
"He will never surrender to Faihn!" Kall exclaimed to his father. "Partini would never do that! Under any circumstances!"  
  
***  
  
"Because I realize that Partini will probably be unwilling to surrender his planet to Fareari, I have arranged for an… incentive. And it is only out of the kindness of my heart that I have not subjected both princesses to this fate." The screen winked out and Princess Tielle appeared as the farmer Pioti sourly thought, *you don't have a heart.*  
  
***  
  
As Klane watched the screen, he bitterly thought, *this is not going well. The assassins couldn't even finish the two princesses off, and now it looks like I will not be ruling Hidon- Faihn will!*  
  
On Shansire, a wealthy merchant watched Faihn explain his incentive. The merchant, Ewate W'antani, had a feeling that this incentive was probably not a credit amount.  
  
***  
  
Pioti's children and wife had joined him in watching the holos. Pioti and his wife gasped as a levitating metallic device floated over to the princess. They knew what that was.  
  
"Children, to your rooms. Now." Pioti sternly commanded, his tone giving no room for argument. He knew what was going to happen next.  
  
***  
  
It was the worst, absolutely most horrific and devastating thing that could have happened to Tielle. She nearly fainted when she saw it.  
  
An interrogation sphere.  
  
***  
  
The sphere was covered with needles, injectors, electric shockers, and other things that Kall didn't recognize.  
  
He didn't need to recognize them to know that they would probably do more than just tickle.  
  
***  
  
Ewate nearly passed out from shock when she saw the highly, highly, illegal interrogation sphere. She had seen one only once before, when she had been working as a black market smuggler, before she had gone "clean." Possessing a sphere on Shansire was enough for a twenty-year sentence; using it on someone, ever, was good for life.  
  
***  
  
Across the Inner Space System, billions of beings watched in horror as the interrogation sphere began its heinous task.  
  
***  
  
Queen Tenia gasped. She could not help herself. The beautiful princess was being beaten, electrocuted, cut, bruised, battered, stabbed, pricked, and injected with chemicals.  
  
She was being *tortured.*  
  
Finally she fainted, lapsing into unconsciousness. Tenia breathed a sigh of relief that the princess would be put out of her misery, but then she was revived.  
  
***  
  
And then it started all over again.  
  
Tielle screamed as the sphere came near her again. She tried to defend herself, but the room was too small. There was nowhere to go, even if she had had any energy to flee with.  
  
The worst was the tiny pinpricks that the needles gave her as they stabbed into her flesh, leaving blood and wounded skin behind. The needles hurt, and the chemicals that were injected felt like acid tearing her insides out. Her blood vessels screamed out in pain, and her heart felt like it was about to burst as the toxins circulated throughout her bloodstream.  
  
Numb, dazed, in excruciating pain of unthinkable levels, all Tielle could pray was, *God… No… Help… Stop…  
  
*Stop…*  
  
***  
  
Tielle cried out again and Chayden tightly reined in his emotions once again. He was standing with Hristen behind a one-way window, so Tielle could not see him, but he could see her.  
  
And he didn't like what he was seeing.  
  
Tielle screamed in agony again, her terror and pain vibrating through Chayden's head as strongly as if he was the one getting tortured. He wanted to stand up and grab the sphere's controls away from Hristen, but that would accomplish nothing.  
  
Hristen was relishing this, much to Chayden's disgust. He smiled malevolently as he increased the toxin dosage levels on his controls. The electricity levels went up a notch also…  
  
Tielle shrieked again, her tormented cries and anguished sense nearly causing Chayden to break, and it was in that moment that he knew that he loved her. 


	13. War!

Sorry for the delay with these chapters… things have been hectic lately, it's unreal, and it's slowing me down, but anyway, now I'm done, so enjoy!  
  
Oh and to lilyofthevalley- Thanks for the support and reviews! It's great to have support like that! Thanks! God bless!  
  
yente  
  
Chapter Eleven- War!  
  
Ecclesiastes 3:8- "…a time for love and a time for hate, a time for war and a time for peace."  
  
Pain… intense pain… music… music? Sweet, sweet music…  
  
Folk music from Hidon… she was dancing with Erete…  
  
The music stopped, and Tielle numbly felt even more pain as she crashed to the floor.  
  
Floor… what floor? Where was she?  
  
Footsteps faded away, and she was alone, but not for long. Again she heard footsteps, this time coming towards her. They came, and gentle hands lifted her up.  
  
"Up," she murmured, but could not seem to get any more words to come out of her mouth.  
  
"Shh," a voice said, "it will be alright. You'll be fine." Tielle was set down on a more comfortable surface, and the voice continued. "Just rest."  
  
Rest…  
  
Softness touched her forehead. Lips? It was comforting, and Tielle tried to say so, but was silenced as a hand touched her lips. "Don't speak. Just rest. And-" the voice broke off, "I'm sorry, Tielle. I'm sorry this all had to happen."  
  
Tielle tried to say that she was sorry too, but her fatigue overcame her and she finally let go of consciousness and slipped into nothingness.  
  
When she woke many hours later, she did not remember how she had gotten into the room or anything about the incident or the voice.  
  
***  
  
King Partini addressed the Inner Space System the same day that Faihn had revealed his capture of the princesses.  
  
His tone was somber, his manner grave, but all who watched him did not miss the spark of anger in his eyes and the breath of hatred in his voice.  
  
Billions of Hidonians, enraged by Fareari's horrible actions, grimly cheered as their King said his last words to the system:  
  
"Because of our love for the princesses, King Faihn hopes that we will be weak and give him control of Hidon for them. But I tell you my daughters, and especially your Heir, Princess Tielle Alaissyiss Nucona, would not want us to show any cowardly behavior and would rather die than see Hidon under corrupt Farearian reign. So, even in light of these heinous crimes against us, we will not falter. We will not hesitate. We will overcome Fareari by any means possible, which means that war is inevitable.  
  
"So I feel no regret or remorse in formally declaring war against Fareari."  
  
***  
  
Faihn had been prepared for this turn of events, although he would have preferred the stubborn King Partini to just surrender immediately. However, he had known that that would not happen.  
  
And so he gave the order to blockade Hidon, sighing even as he did. Now there would be a long drawn-out war that Fareari would eventually win, but not without casualties.  
  
But it *would* be fun to watch Hidon fight to its death.  
  
***  
  
Klane was slightly irritated. How much simpler it would have been if the assassins had just been able to kill the princesses! Now he had to make plans for if Hidon won the war, or if Fareari won the war. He would have to play both ends against the middle.  
  
But he was always up to a challenge. And he was resourceful, planning for all circumstances, and knew exactly what to do.  
  
Smiling slightly, he keyed the order for his personal space ship to be ready to take off in an hour. He would be going on a fairly long voyage to a planet called Malaar.  
  
***  
  
Light streamed in through a small window a small electric field to prevent escape. Not that Tielle was in any shape to escape.  
  
The light woke her up, and as soon as she opened her eyes, she wished she hadn't. Opening her eyes hurt, as did moving even any muscle, no matter how small or insignificant.  
  
Hidonian photographic memories were not *truly* photographic, Tielle reflected as she lay there in pain. They only remembered about 98% of everything they saw or heard.  
  
But even that was far too much for an interrogation. Tielle wished that she could wipe those memories out of her mind forever.  
  
Footsteps drew near, and Tielle fervently hoped that it wasn't Hristen. She was not in the mood to see him.  
  
It wasn't Hristen. It was Chayden.  
  
Relief filled Tielle. She tried to smile and say something, but Chayden quieted her.  
  
"I know you're in a lot of pain right now. That's the toxins in your blood- they infiltrate your blood cells and flow with them everywhere they go, causing pain in your bloodstream and in your nervous system, but they self- destruct in about twelve hours and after that will not hurt you."  
  
"Side effects?"  
  
"None. They only create pain, and then disappear."  
  
"Hidon?"  
  
Chayden hesitated. "I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I will anyway. Hidon has formally declared war on Fareari, and I suspect that Shansire and Ziex will also."  
  
"Shansire will," Tielle got out with some effort.  
  
"What makes you so sure?"  
  
"Kall."  
  
"Kall?"  
  
"Prince. Fiancé."  
  
"Prince Kall is your fiancé?"  
  
Tielle nodded. Shansire would indeed support Hidon in their fight against Fareari. They probably would have even if Tielle weren't unofficially engaged to Kall. Fareari was not well liked in the Inner Space System.  
  
"Is there anything you need?" Chayden asked, returning Tielle to the present.  
  
"Water."  
  
"As you wish," Chayden nodded slightly, and Tielle felt more like a guest than a prisoner at that moment.  
  
***  
  
Engaged! Chayden numbly shut Tielle's door behind him and sent for water. She was engaged? To Prince Kall of Shansire? It made sense; she was next in line for a very powerful throne, and Shansire and Hidon had always been allies.  
  
Chayden wondered whose decision it had been for Tielle to marry Kall. Did she love him? Or had it been an arranged marriage, one that she had no say in?  
  
He doubted it. Tielle would have protested if she didn't like the idea of marrying Kall. She was far too opinionated and outspoken to do anything that she didn't want to do.  
  
Chayden was surprised at how much that revelation hurt him. He should have known that Tielle, as Crown Princess and Heir to the throne on Hidon, would be engaged. Even had she not been, Chayden's feelings for her led to a place that he could not go, as a Farearian royal and a believer in a different religion.  
  
Although lately he had been wondering about Fareari's religion. It seemed so petty, so stark, compared to the monotheist religion of Hidon. And he didn't seem to get any comfort by praying to any of Fareari's gods. He never had.  
  
But then if Tielle's god was real, why was He letting her suffer so? It made no sense. None at all.  
  
Maybe when Tielle was better he'd have the opportunity to ask her.  
  
Chayden walked into the room where Hristen was speaking with King Faihn through a viewscreen. Chayden stopped and waited.  
  
King Faihn was speaking. "-was expected, and so I've given the order for our ships to lay siege to Hidon. They will resist, but I am confident that our ships can take whatever they have. Our ships have been training hard in the last couple of months, preparing for this, but Hidon has recently been in upheaval with the deaths of their prince and princesses, and then with the Recognizing Ceremony for Princess Tielle, so they will not be ready to fight."  
  
"Yes, Father. And what should I do with the princess?"  
  
"How is she?"  
  
Hristen gestured to Chayden. "Chayden could tell you better than I. Here he is."  
  
Chayden stepped in range of the viewscreen and dutifully reported, anger welling up in him, "The princess went to sleep after the interrogation and woke up about a half hour ago, in pain and thirsty. After the toxins wane, however, she will still be sore and battered from the beatings."  
  
Faihn nodded. "Excellent. Was she thirsty when she woke up?"  
  
"Yes. I made sure she received water."  
  
"Good. Bring her back to good health, nourish her. I want her to be healthy."  
  
For the next interrogation, Chayden knew. But as livid as that made him, he carefully replied, "Yes, Father."  
  
"Excellent." The viewscreen winked out, and Chayden put up mental barriers so that Hristen couldn't sense the fury growing in him.  
  
***  
  
Shansire did indeed pledge their support to Hidon and also declared war on Fareari. That had been expected, but Partini hadn't been sure about Ziex. So he was pleasantly surprised to receive a transmission from Queen Tenia only a day after declaring war on Fareari.  
  
"King Partini," she somberly greeted him, her solemnity meaning nothing in itself. Ziex were always solemn. "My people and I sympathize with you and your fight against Fareari. What Faihn has done is unacceptable and angers even us on Ziex. So I have the full support of my Senate and my people when I tell you that I also will support you and will declare war on Fareari."  
  
Partini felt relief flood through him. He had hoped for, needed, Ziex's support, for Shansire and Hidon even together would be hard-pressed to defeat Fareari. But he had never dared to count Ziex among those who would be his allies, for even though Ziex had supported Hidon before, Ziex were a cautious people.  
  
"Queen Tenia," Partini started, allowing a small smile to cross his face. "I speak not only for myself, but also for all of Hidon when I say thank you. Together with Shansire, I have no doubt that we will be able to crush Fareari beneath our feet."  
  
Chapter Eleven- Thirsting Desire and Reluctant Defeat  
  
Jeremiah 46:5- "…They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated…"  
  
After a day or so, Tielle finally regained her strength enough to stand up and move around. She still ached everywhere, and bruises covered her sore body, but she ignored the pain and eagerly accepted Chayden's proposal to venture outside, to the ocean.  
  
She shakily rose from her cot in her cell and unsteadily walked through the door that Chayden held open for her. The small distance wore her out, and Chayden noticed.  
  
"Here, let me help you." He looped an arm around her waist, but Tielle shook him away.  
  
"No, I'm fine, really," she insisted, but Chayden was not convinced.  
  
"I can sense your emotions, you know. I know you need the support." And he placed his arm around her waist again, ignoring her protests.  
  
They slowly made their way past the inmates that Tielle laboriously avoided looking at, even with their crude, repulsive comments and jeers, and they stepped outside into the salty air. Tielle breathed deeply the unfamiliar sent of the ocean and thanked God that she was alive to smell it.  
  
Alive. Instantly Tielle felt guilty, for Arilana was dead, and she had never been to the ocean. She had never done a great many things, like join the military, come of age in Hidonian society, fall in love…  
  
Tielle snuck a glance at Chayden, and suddenly felt uncomfortable with his arm around her waist. She pulled away and sat down on the warm sand, not caring that she would get her dress dirty. Nothing else in her prison was clean.  
  
Chayden was, though. He sat beside her, and Tielle breathed his scent, and not the ocean's in her next breath. He smelled good, like a cool breeze blowing in a warm valley.  
  
Looking out into the ocean, Tielle asked Chayden, "Where are my Holy Books? Are they still at the Purification Retreat?"  
  
Chayden shook his blond head. "I brought them here with me, and I forgot to give them to you. I can do that when we go back inside." He paused and seemed to be collecting his thoughts. "Tielle, you still believe in your god, right?"  
  
Surprised at his question, Tielle answered honestly, "Yes. I do."  
  
"Why? Why, even after all that's happened to you? Arilana was assassinated- " that caused tears to rise in Tielle's eyes, and Chayden hastily continued, "and you were tortured, and you're being held a prisoner on an enemy planet-" he stopped there, but Tielle mentally added, *and your three older siblings were killed in a hover-car accident, and your planet is involved in a war.* So many bad things *had* happened to her.  
  
"I still believe in my god," Tielle said slowly, "because I have felt Him. He is there; I know it. And He's promised that He will bring prosperity and not harm to me. There's a verse about that in the Prophets. It talks about how God will give hope and a future. So I know that good will come out of this."  
  
"How?" Chayden asked incredulously. "Your sister is gone; your world is at war. You are held captive here. How will good come of this?"  
  
Tielle thought she had an idea, but she wasn't about to share it with Chayden. So she just stubbornly replied, "I don't know *how.* But I know it will."  
  
***  
  
They stayed outside for a while longer, Tielle playing in the surf, letting the waves cascade over her feet, and Chayden watching from a distant to make sure she wouldn't collapse, thinking.  
  
What if she was right? What if there was really one god, one god who ruled over the universe and cared for each of his followers individually? What if He did make good out of all circumstances for his followers?  
  
What, then, did He do to unbelievers?  
  
Chayden shivered. It wasn't a thought he'd like to entertain.  
  
His thoughts bordered on blasphemy, he knew, and he would be punished if anyone knew that he was thinking about the possibility of Hidon's god being real. But how could he not? Tielle had such faith, such steadfast confidence in her god that it *had* to make him wonder.  
  
He glanced over at her, sitting by the shore, letting the waves touch her feet. Her sense was one of grief, and he knew that she was grieving her sister. Her head was bowed, her crimson hair covering her face, and he knew that she was hiding tears, not wanting to appear weak in front of him.  
  
Weak! As though he cared! And he didn't think she was weak. She was perhaps the strongest person he knew, to have withstood such turmoil and yet keep going. She had indomitable strength, and she would make an excellent queen one day.  
  
Chayden frowned. If she got to be queen.  
  
He reluctantly rose. It was time to bring Tielle back to her cell. He walked over to her and offered her his hand. "It's time to go inside."  
  
She nodded, her eyes glittering with tears, and took his hand. He helped her to her feet, and, when she was standing, did not let go of her hand. She looked at him, puzzled and uncomfortable, and then shocked as Chayden leaned closer… and closer….  
  
Then she relaxed and raised her face to his as their lips met.  
  
Chayden touched her hair with his other hand and drew her closer. She willingly moved closer to him, and their kiss grew more intense, more heated…  
  
Her pleasure and desire flooded Chayden. The force of her bliss vibrated through his mind like a resounding symphony, and his hand slid from her hand to her jaw as he continued his kiss. The moment seemed to last forever, frozen in time, and yet when she pulled away, he wanted it to continue…  
  
"Let's go back," she murmured, not meeting his gaze. Chayden felt her guilt and shame, and something inside of him tore in two.  
  
***  
  
Tielle was shaking as she returned to her small cell. What had just happened? Why had Chayden kissed her?  
  
And why had it taken her so long to pull away from him?  
  
She had enjoyed it. She had felt longing pleasure as their lips had met, and she had craved that feeling of elation. Her heart had taken over, her mind momentarily stunned and out of control.  
  
She had been incredibly foolish to let the kiss continue for so long. What had she been thinking?  
  
She hadn't been thinking.  
  
With a groan, the tormented princess flopped down on her uncomfortable cot. And the worst part wasn't the kiss itself; it was the fact that even as she berated herself for it, she felt a thirsting desire for another.  
  
***  
  
In the capital city of Citeage, King Faihn met with his advisors and military personnel to discuss their next course of action after Hidon's blockade was firmly established. They discussed the princess also, and it was decided that, if after the princess underwent two more interrogations King Partini had still not surrendered, the princess would be executed.  
  
***  
  
From Hidon's magnificent palace, King Partini listened as the reports of large warships gathering around Hidon came in. It didn't look good. Fareari had obviously been preparing for this move, and they carried it out with excellent efficiency and competence, whereas Hidon's military had to scramble to assemble a defensive force.  
  
All communication frequencies had been cloaked, save for the Hidonian ones. But the Hidonian ones couldn't reach Shansire or Ziex and ask for assistance.  
  
Queen Shari stirred beside Partini. "What will happen to us?"  
  
Partini grimly replied, "Unless Klane can petition Shansire and Ziex for assistance and they quickly come, Hidon will fall." 


	14. Thirsting Desire and Reluctant Defeat

Chapter Eleven- Thirsting Desire and Reluctant Defeat  
  
Jeremiah 46:5- "…They are terrified, they are retreating, their warriors are defeated…"  
  
After a day or so, Tielle finally regained her strength enough to stand up and move around. She still ached everywhere, and bruises covered her sore body, but she ignored the pain and eagerly accepted Chayden's proposal to venture outside, to the ocean.  
  
She shakily rose from her cot in her cell and unsteadily walked through the door that Chayden held open for her. The small distance wore her out, and Chayden noticed.  
  
"Here, let me help you." He looped an arm around her waist, but Tielle shook him away.  
  
"No, I'm fine, really," she insisted, but Chayden was not convinced.  
  
"I can sense your emotions, you know. I know you need the support." And he placed his arm around her waist again, ignoring her protests.  
  
They slowly made their way past the inmates that Tielle laboriously avoided looking at, even with their crude, repulsive comments and jeers, and they stepped outside into the salty air. Tielle breathed deeply the unfamiliar sent of the ocean and thanked God that she was alive to smell it.  
  
Alive. Instantly Tielle felt guilty, for Arilana was dead, and she had never been to the ocean. She had never done a great many things, like join the military, come of age in Hidonian society, fall in love…  
  
Tielle snuck a glance at Chayden, and suddenly felt uncomfortable with his arm around her waist. She pulled away and sat down on the warm sand, not caring that she would get her dress dirty. Nothing else in her prison was clean.  
  
Chayden was, though. He sat beside her, and Tielle breathed his scent, and not the ocean's in her next breath. He smelled good, like a cool breeze blowing in a warm valley.  
  
Looking out into the ocean, Tielle asked Chayden, "Where are my Holy Books? Are they still at the Purification Retreat?"  
  
Chayden shook his blond head. "I brought them here with me, and I forgot to give them to you. I can do that when we go back inside." He paused and seemed to be collecting his thoughts. "Tielle, you still believe in your god, right?"  
  
Surprised at his question, Tielle answered honestly, "Yes. I do."  
  
"Why? Why, even after all that's happened to you? Arilana was assassinated- " that caused tears to rise in Tielle's eyes, and Chayden hastily continued, "and you were tortured, and you're being held a prisoner on an enemy planet-" he stopped there, but Tielle mentally added, *and your three older siblings were killed in a hover-car accident, and your planet is involved in a war.* So many bad things *had* happened to her.  
  
"I still believe in my god," Tielle said slowly, "because I have felt Him. He is there; I know it. And He's promised that He will bring prosperity and not harm to me. There's a verse about that in the Prophets. It talks about how God will give hope and a future. So I know that good will come out of this."  
  
"How?" Chayden asked incredulously. "Your sister is gone; your world is at war. You are held captive here. How will good come of this?"  
  
Tielle thought she had an idea, but she wasn't about to share it with Chayden. So she just stubbornly replied, "I don't know *how.* But I know it will."  
  
***  
  
They stayed outside for a while longer, Tielle playing in the surf, letting the waves cascade over her feet, and Chayden watching from a distant to make sure she wouldn't collapse, thinking.  
  
What if she was right? What if there was really one god, one god who ruled over the universe and cared for each of his followers individually? What if He did make good out of all circumstances for his followers?  
  
What, then, did He do to unbelievers?  
  
Chayden shivered. It wasn't a thought he'd like to entertain.  
  
His thoughts bordered on blasphemy, he knew, and he would be punished if anyone knew that he was thinking about the possibility of Hidon's god being real. But how could he not? Tielle had such faith, such steadfast confidence in her god that it *had* to make him wonder.  
  
He glanced over at her, sitting by the shore, letting the waves touch her feet. Her sense was one of grief, and he knew that she was grieving her sister. Her head was bowed, her crimson hair covering her face, and he knew that she was hiding tears, not wanting to appear weak in front of him.  
  
Weak! As though he cared! And he didn't think she was weak. She was perhaps the strongest person he knew, to have withstood such turmoil and yet keep going. She had indomitable strength, and she would make an excellent queen one day.  
  
Chayden frowned. If she got to be queen.  
  
He reluctantly rose. It was time to bring Tielle back to her cell. He walked over to her and offered her his hand. "It's time to go inside."  
  
She nodded, her eyes glittering with tears, and took his hand. He helped her to her feet, and, when she was standing, did not let go of her hand. She looked at him, puzzled and uncomfortable, and then shocked as Chayden leaned closer… and closer….  
  
Then she relaxed and raised her face to his as their lips met.  
  
Chayden touched her hair with his other hand and drew her closer. She willingly moved closer to him, and their kiss grew more intense, more heated…  
  
Her pleasure and desire flooded Chayden. The force of her bliss vibrated through his mind like a resounding symphony, and his hand slid from her hand to her jaw as he continued his kiss. The moment seemed to last forever, frozen in time, and yet when she pulled away, he wanted it to continue…  
  
"Let's go back," she murmured, not meeting his gaze. Chayden felt her guilt and shame, and something inside of him tore in two.  
  
***  
  
Tielle was shaking as she returned to her small cell. What had just happened? Why had Chayden kissed her?  
  
And why had it taken her so long to pull away from him?  
  
She had enjoyed it. She had felt longing pleasure as their lips had met, and she had craved that feeling of elation. Her heart had taken over, her mind momentarily stunned and out of control.  
  
She had been incredibly foolish to let the kiss continue for so long. What had she been thinking?  
  
She hadn't been thinking.  
  
With a groan, the tormented princess flopped down on her uncomfortable cot. And the worst part wasn't the kiss itself; it was the fact that even as she berated herself for it, she felt a thirsting desire for another.  
  
***  
  
In the capital city of Citeage, King Faihn met with his advisors and military personnel to discuss their next course of action after Hidon's blockade was firmly established. They discussed the princess also, and it was decided that, if after the princess underwent two more interrogations King Partini had still not surrendered, the princess would be executed.  
  
***  
  
From Hidon's magnificent palace, King Partini listened as the reports of large warships gathering around Hidon came in. It didn't look good. Fareari had obviously been preparing for this move, and they carried it out with excellent efficiency and competence, whereas Hidon's military had to scramble to assemble a defensive force.  
  
All communication frequencies had been cloaked, save for the Hidonian ones. But the Hidonian ones couldn't reach Shansire or Ziex and ask for assistance. It was all leading up to Hidon's reluctant defeat.  
  
Queen Shari stirred beside Partini. "What will happen to us?"  
  
Partini grimly replied, "Unless Klane can petition Shansire and Ziex for assistance and they quickly come, Hidon will fall."  
  
***  
  
What do you think? It's obvious the story is building to a climax, and I can end it in one of two ways: with this being the only story about Tielle, or writing another one and creating a mini-series type of thing. I'm leaning towards the mini-series- I like this story and don't really want to see it end –and I've got an idea for another story about Tielle and Chayden. I think I'll do the mini-series, but write a review and tell me what you think! 


	15. Let Her Live!

Chapter Thirteen- "Let Her Live!" Ezekiel 27:36- ".you will have come to a horrible end and will be no more."  
  
Klane Satine had left Hidon with permission from King Partini, who thought that his younger brother would be visiting Shansire and Ziex. And he would, but that was only a cover-up to hide his true intentions. He left for Malaar and, while stopping on another planet, Wreph, heard that Hidon had been blockaded. He didn't really care whether or not Fareari succeeded in their mission to take Hidon over; it made no difference to him whether they did or didn't. After a quick visit to Malaar, everything would be in place for his reign on Hidon. And after Malaar, Klane supposed that he should go to Shansire and Ziex as planned, just to keep up appearances and to prevent anyone from becoming suspicious. *** Hristen came to Tielle's cell to gloat, much to Tielle's dismay. She was still healing from both her interrogation and Chayden's unexpected kiss, and Hristen was not a welcome distraction. "Ah! There's the *princess*," he sneered, taking in her dirty surroundings and appearance in one quick, arrogant glance. "Since you seem to care *so much* for your precious planet, I thought I'd come and tell you that Hidon is being blockaded by Fareari." Tielle stared at him, shock jolting through her harder than any jolt of electricity. "No," she breathed unbelievingly, "no." Hristen smirked. "Oh yes. Yes indeed. And so far, your father remains steadfast in his refusal to surrender. So he may need some encouragement." He looked at Tielle with an evil look in his eye, and she knew that he was thinking of another torture session. "No," she breathed again, not wanting to be interrogated, but not wanting Hidon to surrender either. "No." Hristen sighed loudly and theatrically. "Unfortunately, I have not yet received permission to interrogate you," he said regretfully, as though he was sad that some event had been cancelled because of bad weather. "So for now you will remain untouched. For now," he repeated meaningfully, and he the door clicked behind him as he left. Tielle numbly turned back to the passage in the Prophets that she had been reading, but her mind was spinning with too many thoughts and feelings, and she couldn't understand a word she was reading. *** Hidon remained resolute in its decision not to surrender, and although there had been rumors about Shansire coming to break Hidon free of the blockade, so far there had been no real resistance. Fareari wanted to take Hidon intact and productive, without the damage that warfare caused, so it had not yet pushed for Hidon's surrender. It didn't have to; it had their Crown Princess. When Hristen approached Chayden with that glee in his sense, and that vigor in his step, Chayden knew that Tielle was once again going to be tortured. And this time, a countdown had begun, for if Partini did not surrender after this interrogation, after the next an execution would take place instead. *** They brought Tielle, kicking and fighting all the way, back to the same room that she had visited the last time. She struggled and fought, trying to get away, trying to break free, but all her effort was in vain, and she was left alone to face the interrogation sphere once more. It was worse. Far worse. Whether because they had increased the pain levels, or because she knew what was coming, Tielle didn't know. All she knew was that she thought she was dying. How was it possible to live through such pain? She tried to think of something, anything else. Hidon. her family. her friends. anything to take her mind off of her unbearable reality. But it didn't work, and soon Tielle had no mental energy left to think about anything. Except how it hurt. Darkness came, and with it welcoming relief and the knowledge that she would never hurt again. *** Fareari transmitted the message to Hidon, lifting one frequency from the jamming to show Tielle being tortured again. Shari watched, horrified, beside Partini, who stoically gazed upon the screen, thick rage welling up inside of him. Then Tielle collapsed. The interrogation sphere prodded her, electrocuted her, to make her regain her consciousness. She didn't. She remained on the floor, limp and unmoving, her red hair sprawled across her bleeding face. Partini strained to look for some sign, any sign, of life within his daughter. He found none. The transmission winked out. *** Hristen was showing no mercy and exhibited only malice instead as he increased the levels of pain. Chayden fought to keep his emotions in check; revealing his fear, anger, and most of all love, would result in destruction for both Tielle and himself. His own destruction he could tolerate, but he *must not* be the cause of any of Tielle's pain. As pain wracked Tielle's body and echoed through Chayden's mind, he turned to Hristen. A nauseating look had come upon the cruel prince's face, and he grinned an evil grin as he jacked the pain levels up even harder. *That's too much!* Chayden thought in horror, but he knew that to tell Hristen that was too reveal himself. Chayden's older brother's thumb kept moving up, making Tielle's anguished screams louder than they had ever been before, and Chayden could not stop himself. "Hristen!" he started, but then there was no need to continue. The terrified screams stopped, and Tielle fainted. Chayden breathed a sigh of relief, but his relief quickly turned back into concern when the interrogation sphere failed to revive Tielle. It prodded the lifeless princess, but she remained just that: lifeless. "See what you've done!" Chayden snapped at his older brother, who was now staring, shocked, at the motionless Tielle. Chayden took action and slapped the "transmit" button and watched as the camera transmitting the horrific images shut down. He simultaneously shutoff the interrogation sphere and threw open the door separating him from Tielle and rushed to her side. His heart was pounding as he checked for a pulse. *Please let her be all right. Let her live!* 


	16. Miracle

Chapter Fourteen- Miracle Psalm 77:14- "You are the God who performs miracles."  
  
In the poor excuse for an infirmary in the prison, Tielle lay in silent unconsciousness, medics bustling around her, desperately trying to revive her.  
  
It wasn't working. Medical advances in the galaxy had made almost anything possible, with the right equipment. The average life expectancy had risen to about a hundred- fifty, with most people dying from old age, which seemed to be the only ailment that the right equipment could not cure.  
  
But the Hidden Fortress Penitentiary did not have the right equipment.  
  
Chayden watched as the medics slowly gave up on resuscitating the princess and instead attempted to drain the poisonous toxins from her system.  
  
"At this stage of the game, removing the toxins won't do much," a doctor confided, leaning close to a scared Chayden. "They mostly just inflict pain, and removing them will not increase her red blood cell count or heal her wounded organs, but right now it is all we can do."  
  
Chayden glanced at the machines monitoring Tielle's vital signs, his hope dipping even lower than her heart rate.  
  
***  
  
Hristen faced his livid father with deep shame written on his face, but simmering resentment boiling inside as the king lashed out at him.  
  
"Fool! What were you thinking? Partini isn't surrendering, and the princess is the only leverage we have! And now she's lying comatose, almost dead, because of your *stupid* actions! You may have cost us Hidon!"  
  
Hristen didn't reply, taking his rebuke in silence as was proper. But even if he had wanted to say anything, like the fact that the princess was going to be executed soon enough anyway, there was no opportunity. Faihn continued his angry scolding until he finally calmed down enough to demand that Chayden talk to him.  
  
Hristen mumbled an order to find his younger brother, saying to check the infirmary first. It seemed to be where Chayden had been spending all of his time as of late.  
  
Chayden arrived, looking weary and slightly annoyed at being dragged away from wherever he had been. "Yes?"  
  
"Chayden!" Faihn roared. "Come stand where I can see you!"  
  
Chayden obliged and faced his father. "Yes?"  
  
"Did you try to stop Hristen from increasing the interrogation levels?"  
  
"Yes, I did," Chayden glowered at Hristen for a brief moment, and Hristen stared back at him, stunned. His younger brother rarely displayed anger.  
  
"Very well, then. You are now in charge, and Hristen is going to come back to Citaege, where he will be aptly punished for his serious lack of discernment." The menace in his father's voice made Hristen wince even as he felt fury for being replaced by a younger, more inexperienced, brother.  
  
***  
  
Klane finished at Malaar and journeyed to Shansire, which was slightly closer to Malaar than Ziex was. He was greeted with relief by the Shansirian king and queen, along with their sons and daughter, including Kall.  
  
"We were happy to hear that you had left Hidon before the blockade," King Hael said, sincerity evident in his voice. "And now that you are here, you can tell us how we can best help Hidon. We cannot let Fareari take over your planet."  
  
***  
  
Chayden kept a vigil by Tielle's bedside, past caring whether or not it looked proper. Hristen was gone and he was in charge; no one could question his actions.  
  
In the few occasions when he left Tielle's side, he spent time in prayer, pleading to Taina, the goddess of life and healing, to save Tielle.  
  
But her condition worsened. Slowly but surely, she plunged closer and closer to the place of no return: death.  
  
Chayden had momentarily toyed with the idea of moving her to Citaege, where there were facilities that could surely save her. But she wouldn't be able to survive the trip, he knew. Any travel would kill her as certainly as shooting her through the heart.  
  
"Tielle," Chayden quietly spoke to her, hoping that she could hear him. "You have to live. You have to fight through this. Can you do that? Can you be strong? You were always very strong." He brushed a tendril of curly red hair away from her closed eyes. "You're the strongest person I know, actually. You have so much courage. That's what first made me love you." He leaned in conspiratorially. "That's right; I love you. Do you hear that? I love you, Tielle Satine."  
  
There was no indication that she heard him. Not a flicker of movement or a sign of recognition. Chayden fought disappointment, knowing that he shouldn't expect a miracle. He shouldn't even expect that she would make it through this; none of the medics did.  
  
But he couldn't give up. He had to keep hope.  
  
Hope. What had that passage been? That one that he had read in Tielle's Holy Books? How had it gone?  
  
It came to him.  
  
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  
  
*But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength*, Chayden mulled that over, glancing at the motionless Tielle, who did indeed hope in her Lord. But had it helped her?  
  
There was still a chance, though. Chayden shut his eyes for just a brief moment and uttered a silent prayer to Tielle's god, knowing that he was committing heresy and blasphemy, but willing to try anything for Tielle.  
  
*If you are there, Tielle's god, then save her. She has such faith in you; I don't see how you could let her die if you really exist.* Chayden hesitated, knowing that what he was about to say could change his life. But falling in love with an enemy princess had already changed his life.  
  
So he dove in headlong. *If you heal Tielle, it will be a miracle, and I will believe in you.*  
  
The next day Tielle woke up. 


	17. Belief and Truth

Chapter Fifteen- Belief and Truth Psalm 51:6- "Surely you desire truth."  
  
Darkness. Light. Bright light. It hurt her eyes.  
  
Blinking hurt her eyes. Everything hurt. Couldn't move. It hurt.  
  
A voice? Speaking.to her? She tried to focus, tried to listen.  
  
Eventually the room came into focus, and she saw Chayden. Chayden.she fought against the feeling of warmth that suddenly grew inside her heart. *Chayden's not a believer,* she sternly reminded herself, forming her first coherent thought, *I can't fall in love with him.*  
  
But it was too late, she realized as she looked into his ocean-blue eyes. "You're awake!" He exclaimed, smiling in wonder.  
  
"Yes." Tielle murmured softly, trying to remember what had happened. She had been interrogated, and had fainted, obviously, but why hadn't the interrogation sphere revived her? "What happened?"  
  
Chayden's handsome face darkened. "Hristen injected too much poison into your system, electrocuted you too many times, just generally gave you too much pain. Your system couldn't handle it and it shut down."  
  
"Then how long was I unconscious?"  
  
"Three days."  
  
Tielle turned away from Chayden's intense gaze. It was overwhelming her.  
  
His voice was no less intense when he spoke again. "The medics didn't think you'd make it," he confided softly. "And I was losing hope too. And Tielle- " here he gently pulled her towards him so that she was facing him, "-I was going insane. I stayed by your bed day and night, wanting to be there when you woke up or when you left. Tielle, I, I was-" he broke off, not sure of what to say.  
  
"Chayden, stop," Tielle firmly commanded, not wanting to hear anymore. It was making her pulse quicken, her breathing deepen, her desire growing.  
  
She forced her thoughts away from where they were heading. He wasn't a believer! She had to remember that! He was not a believer! Her feelings for him were wrong, and she was pledged to Kall.  
  
"Why?" He challenged her. "Why should I stop?"  
  
Tielle swallowed. Hard. "Because you don't believe in my God."  
  
He smiled. "Is that why?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Well let me tell you something. I prayed and prayed to my gods that you would heal." Tielle listened with a sinking heart. Was he going to say that her recovery was because of his gods? "But nothing happened. In fact, you just got worse. So I got worried and in my despair tried everything that I could. Including praying to your god." Chayden smiled, and in that instant he looked more handsome than he ever had before. "He answered my prayer, Tielle. You were right; your god is the only god."  
  
Tielle stared at him, shocked. Could this be a ploy to get her affection?  
  
No. Chayden was not deceitful or misleading. He would never use such a scheme to get her love.  
  
"You, you believe?" Tielle managed to spit out.  
  
"Yes," Chayden replied, his eyes glowing a brilliant blue. "Yes, I believe. And you know what else?" He leaned in close. "I love you."  
  
Tielle didn't respond; his lips had suddenly met hers and there was no opportunity to.  
  
***  
  
"We are terribly concerned about your Crown Princess," King Hael of Shansire told Klane. "The interrogation was a brutal one, and the way it ended was most distressing indeed." The king shook his head in dismay as Klane cynically thought, *You're just worried that if Tielle is dead your son won't be able to marry into the Hidonian Royal Family. But don't worry; there's still a chance to get her younger sister, Arilana. *  
  
"Right now my concern is more with the blockade," Klane stated, "and I am glad that you have sent your warships to deal with the threat they pose. And now I think that I must leave for Ziex to convince them of the need for support also."  
  
"Certainly, certainly," Hael agreed heartily. "You may leave at your convenience."  
  
*I was going to anyway.* Klane thought contemptuously.  
  
***  
  
On Hidon, Klane would have been delighted to know that his older brother and all of Hidon's officials were panicking. Their planet was being blockaded, their princesses were being held hostage on Fareari, one of which having been tortured and possibly killed, and their supposed allies Ziex and Shansire had still not arrived to provide any help.  
  
Things were looking dire indeed, and there did not seem to be any immediate possibility of improvement.  
  
***  
  
Two days after Tielle awoke, King Faihn contacted Chayden.  
  
"How is the princess? Recovering well?"  
  
"Yes Father. She is weak and sore, but for her to even be alive is a miracle."  
  
"And I'm sure she'll be quick to point to her god as the creator of that miracle," Faihn snorted disdainfully.  
  
Chayden refrained from comment.  
  
"Well, Partini is being as stubborn as usual," Faihn continued conversationally. "And I grow tired of waiting, so we're going to invade before either meddling Shansire or Ziex arrives with warships. But first," he grinned a grin eerily similar to Hristen's, "we're going to execute the princess."  
  
***  
  
Tielle floated in a dreamy state as the medics checked over her, taking her vitals and fussing over everything. Chayden loved her! And he was now a believer too!  
  
How much better could things get? She asked herself, then was disheartened when reality flooded back in. *Well, Arilana could be alive, Fareari could not blockade Hidon, and I could be free in Hidon, not having to worry about another interrogation.*  
  
She pushed her thoughts away from bad side of things and winced as them a doctor stabbed a needle into her sore flesh. Why was it that to heal you always had to feel pain first?  
  
The doctor finished his task and set the needle down, stopping to face the princess. "It is nothing less than a miracle that you are alive," he stated somberly, "and I will be frank with you- it would have been better if you had died."  
  
Tielle stared in aghast at his cruel words, then felt ashamed as she realized that not long ago, she would have had that same attitude about a Farearian prisoner on Hidon.  
  
The doctor wasn't done yet, however. "You know you will never return home, and will just be interrogated here before His Majesty King Faihn gets bored waiting for Hidon to surrender, and you'll be executed."  
  
Tielle saw the truth in his words, even if they were laced with resentment.  
  
And she knew that her father would never surrender, even if it meant her death. 


	18. Endings and Beginnings

Chapter Sixteen- Endings and Beginnings Psalm 25:20- "Guard my life and rescue me.."  
  
Execute Tielle! Chayden's mind whirled with thoughts and emotions, all mixing together in his mind to be an utterly incomprehensible mess.  
  
*Stop it! If I can't think clearly, I can't think of a way to get out of this mess!* Chayden told himself, numbly making his way back to his quarters. He had some intense thinking- and praying -to do.  
  
***  
  
Klane made his way to Ziex, where Queen Tenia greeted him with sobriety. She had called an emergency meeting of the Senate, she told him, and their Klane could petition the delegates for assistance. She had no doubts that he would get it, she assured him, but there were proper channels to go through.  
  
"Could you not order for a fleet to go to Hidon without the Senate's approval?" Klane asked disdainfully. He had never approved of governments where the monarchy did not have absolute power.  
  
"Well, yes I could," Tenia calmly replied, "but the Senate would be offended if they were not consulted, and that would only slow things down in the long run. It will benefit us in the end if the Senate enthusiastically supports the process."  
  
Klane nodded stiffly. "I understand, although I will be frank with you: I do not approve. I do not like to creep around the issue, taking undue time, when Hidon and my family is waiting for deliverance from Fareari." In reality, though, he didn't care what happened to Hidon or his family, but that would not be the right message to send across.  
  
Tenia nodded regally, her elaborate face paint emphasizing the seriousness in her features. "I expected your reaction and have assembled a fleet of warships, ready to be sent to Hidon the moment that the Senate gives the order. I, too, do not want to leave Hidon at the mercy of Fareari."  
  
***  
  
Partini clenched his teeth as he looked outside. The huge warships were visible even this far away, hanging in the atmosphere like Death itself. *Where are Ziex and Shansire?*  
  
And how was Tielle? Was she even alive? Maybe it was better if she wasn't.then Fareari couldn't use her to get what they wanted. but they still had Arilana.  
  
Or did they? They hadn't shown Arilana to Hidon and had only spoken of her once. Could she have somehow escaped?  
  
But then where was she now? Why had they not heard from her before?  
  
It hardly mattered. Now that Fareari was jamming Hidon, there was no way that she could contact them, and she'd have to be a fool to come to Hidon it was being blockaded by Fareari.  
  
Perhaps it was better this way, for if Fareari did invade Hidon, and Partini was captured, he could not tell Faihn where Arilana was, for he did not know.  
  
Partini scratched at an itch on his arm and lowered his gaze from Hidon's skies. He just hoped his youngest daughter was safe.  
  
***  
  
Tielle did not return to her small cell as she had the last time she had been interrogated. The medics were still concerned about her health, and so she remained in the medical wing under constant medical scrutiny.  
  
She didn't mind, however; anything, even the septic atmosphere of the infirmary was an improvement over her dank cell, within hearing range of the inmates.  
  
She was getting tired of being useless and powerless, though, and she told Chayden so when he came to talk to her on one of his frequent visits.  
  
"I can't handle this," she complained, "all this lying around and doing nothing. It's so boring, and I'm used to doing things, not uselessly lying in bed all day."  
  
Chayden sadly smiled down at her. "Soon it will all be over."  
  
***  
  
But how? How would it end? Certainly not in an execution, as Chayden's father had planned. Chayden had to somehow prevent such an event from ever taking place. But how?  
  
He had decided not to tell Tielle of Faihn's order for her death; it would only distress her, and she needed to focus on healing. And if he told her, she would want to know about his plan to stop the execution and might accidentally reveal his plan to the gene-altered medics.  
  
He couldn't let that happen; then not only would Tielle be executed, but he probably also would be for committing treason.  
  
So, alone, he thought about an escape attempt and the possibility of failure and success for each different scenario. He had been fortunate that Hristen was no longer at the Hidden Fortress; now Chayden was in charge, and his actions could not be questioned. That would make things much easier.  
  
Eventually he decided on the best way to escape with Tielle. Now all he had to do was wait until she was strong enough.  
  
***  
  
"So, how are you feeling?" The cheerful voice surprised Tielle, and she jumped slightly.  
  
"Oh, sorry, did I scare you?" Chayden grinned and Tielle glared at him. It had become a game between the two of them in the last couple days, seeing if Chayden could come in quietly enough to scare Tielle. Most of the time he could, and Tielle protested that it wasn't fair that she couldn't sense his emotions to notice if he had come in or not.  
  
"You exasperate me," she told him, and he laughed. "Then you're feeling better."  
  
"Why do you say that?"  
  
"Well, I can always tell how you're feeling by your emotions. If you're feeling calm or peaceful, I know something's wrong. If you're feeling annoyed or angry, then I know that my Tielle's feeling better."  
  
She glared at him, but felt the corners of her mouth twitch and give way to a smile. "Yeah, I'm feeling better."  
  
"Really? That's great. What do the doctors think, though?" Chayden didn't wait for a reply and pressed the buzzer on the side of Tielle's bed. A doctor came immediately.  
  
"Yes? Is something wrong? How is the princess?"  
  
"That's what I wanted to ask you. How much has her condition improved?"  
  
"A lot, Your Highness. She will be ready to go back to her cell tomorrow morning."  
  
"Tomorrow morning." Chayden repeated, and there was a look in his eye that made Tielle vaguely uneasy.  
  
***  
  
The next morning Chayden rose early and dressed. Then, instead of hurrying away as he usually did each morning, he took the time to kneel by the window looking out onto the brilliant blue-green ocean and uttered a quick, but heartfelt prayer. *God,* he silently said, *please protect Tielle and I as we attempt to escape, and guide us once we are free.*  
  
Then he rose and left the room, never to return.  
  
***  
  
Tielle had been escorted back to her small cell and was now attempting to sleep. But it was no use; her spirit was restless and didn't want to rest.  
  
A sense of urgency overcame Tielle, as though something very important was to happen and she had to get ready. No matter how hard she tried to shake that feeling off, it persisted until she got fed up.  
  
*Okay God, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I can't relax. Please help me to; I'm tired and need my sleep!*  
  
Sure that now she'd be able to fall asleep, Tielle lay down on her small bunk and waited for sleep to come.  
  
It didn't. And that nagging feeling persisted.  
  
With a sigh of frustration, Tielle sat up again. She frowned; she had the sudden urge to gather her Holy Books and get them ready.  
  
*Ready? For what?*  
  
She decided it hardly mattered and gave into the impulse, carefully stacking the books neatly, one on top of the other. She saw no reason to; she wasn't going anywhere, but if it would stop that irritating feeling, fine.  
  
She had just laid down again when the door to her cell slid open, revealing Chayden standing there with a determined look on his face. "C'mon, Tielle, let's go." He grabbed her wrist and almost dragged her out. "Wait!" she yelped, and snatched her books, thankful now that she had them neatly organized. She twisted her wrist out of his grasp, and stared at him. "Where are we going?"  
  
Chayden impatiently tapped his foot. "We don't have time for that. Let's go."  
  
Tielle stared. Chayden wasn't acting at all like himself. "Why? Why is there a big hurry?"  
  
Chayden let out a long breath. "Tielle. You have to trust me. Can you do that? Can you trust me enough to just come, no questions asked?"  
  
Tielle looked at him and saw the love in his eyes. He loved her. That thought caused a well of joy to bubble up inside her, and she smiled. "Yes. I trust you, Chayden."  
  
He smiled. "Good. Now let's go."  
  
He led her down halls and corridors, through more doors than she could count and past more inmates than she had ever wanted to see. They remained silent because of Chayden's presence, but they still glared at her, and the hatred in their eyes was intense.  
  
No one questioned Chayden. They curiously looked at them, but they asked no questions. Even so, Chayden looked uneasy. Why?  
  
He led her to another door and stopped. He closed his eyes and a look of intense concentration came over his features. *Trying to sense the emotions of people in the next room, to determine if there are any people there.* Tielle thought, and her guess proved correct when Chayden opened his eyes. "It's still too early. No one's there yet."  
  
He pressed his thumb into the door's I.D. square and the door slid open. Chayden and Tielle stepped inside.  
  
Or rather, outside. They had reached the top of the building, where a small number of shuttles were sitting, the sun glinting off of them. "Where are we going?" Tielle whispered, but Chayden either didn't hear or didn't care to reply.  
  
He quickly scanned the aircraft and headed for a small, unobtrusive one that was used frequently on a hundred worlds. It was the kind of shuttle that would blend in and disappear anywhere.  
  
Tielle followed the prince into the shuttle and into the cockpit, where Chayden took the pilot's seat and gestured to the co-pilot's chair. "Can you fly?"  
  
"A bit." Arilana had always been the pilot of the family. The thought of her deceased sister brought tears to Tielle's eyes, but she pushed them down. She could properly mourn her sister later.  
  
Tielle sat down in the chair and took Chayden's hand to stop him from starting the shuttle. "Chayden, where are we going? What, what are you doing?"  
  
He grimly faced her. "You're scheduled for execution today. My father is going to first give your father one last chance to surrender, and if your father still refuses to surrender, my father will broadcast your execution, then immediately attack Hidon."  
  
Dumbfounded, Tielle could only stare. A lone tear slipped from one eye and cascaded down her cheek. Embarrassed, she turned away and hid behind a veil of red hair, trying to control her emotions.  
  
"And when they discover that I've escaped?" she finally asked, her voice sounding choked.  
  
"I don't know for sure, but I imagine that Fareari will just move the attack up and take Hidon that much sooner."  
  
"No, not that. I mean, what about you?"  
  
Chayden looked away. "I will be disowned and declared a criminal on the grounds of treason."  
  
"Chayden, you can't come with me, then! Stay here. Say that I managed to escape, alone somehow. They won't dispute your word. Now that Hristen's gone, you're in charge. What you say goes. Stay here."  
  
"And what? Lie? My sense would be deceitful and surely my father would figure it out, as soon as he saw me face-to-face."  
  
"You managed to hide your feelings for me from Hristen."  
  
"From my brother, yes. My father? No. I can't hide my feelings from him, no matter how many mental barriers I put up. He's my father. Those who have been gene-altered cannot hide their emotions from their parents, even if they're apart for many years. It's a bond."  
  
Tielle looked away from Chayden, distressed. He would not be welcome on Hidon, she knew, and so where would he go?  
  
"Besides which," Chayden continued, "how could I stay on Fareari without you?" Startled, Tielle looked up. Chayden was looking at her intently, his blue eyes sparkling. "I love you. I can't leave you. And if I stayed on Fareari, I'd have to be married in two months, when I turn twenty. I couldn't get over you in two months. I couldn't get over you in a lifetime."  
  
A million arguments rose to Tielle's lips at that, the foremost one being that there was no way her father would accept Chayden as anything other than Farearian scum, especially when Tielle was engaged to Kall! How could they cultivate a relationship, then? And Tielle couldn't step down as Crown Princess and Heir Apparent; then the throne would be passed to Klane.  
  
But her objections died as Chayden's proclamation of love melted her heart. "Fine," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. What kind of a life would Chayden have? How could she get out of her engagement to Kall without offending Shansire and convince her father that Chayden was different than his father?  
  
Chayden understood what he was getting into, and yet he was willing. Shouldn't that be enough for Tielle?  
  
So much stood in the way, though. So much. The tears spilled down her cheeks, and Chayden lovingly wiped them away with a finger. "It's going to be okay, Tielle. Just have a little faith."  
  
She smiled. Yes, God would make everything all right, eventually. He had a plan, and nothing could stand in His way. That thought was comforting.  
  
Chayden started the shuttle and they rose into Fareari's atmosphere. Tielle looked down at the beautiful planet, shimmering waters and forests filled with life.  
  
Then she looked at Chayden, the one good thing to come out of this ordeal. How she cared for him. Was it love? She didn't know.  
  
But she'd have fun finding out.  
  
Chayden leaned over towards her, and their lips met as the shuttle eased into light-space.  
  
***  
  
This is not the end! Read the continuation of Tielle and Chayden's story, Beyond Hope. And tell me what you thought about this first story in the series. I would love to hear from you!  
  
God bless and thanks for reading my story! 


End file.
